Strategic Advisory Board

Karl Rauscher, Strategic Advisory Board Chairman

Karl Rauscher is the architect of the Strategic Advisory Board and serves as its Chairman.  Karl is a strategic advisor for high consequence breakthroughs at the nexus of technology, business and policy. He serves as Ambassador-at-Large & Chief Architect of Cyberspace Policy for the IEEE, where he coaches technologists to become effective contributors to technology policy decision making for issues of high consequence. He advises business and government leaders on five continents, often in the area of ultra-high security and reliability.  He previously served as CTO & Distinguished Fellow of the EastWest Institute, where he led the first China-U.S. and Russia-U.S. track II bilaterals on cyber security. Karl is a Bell Labs Fellow, cited for his leadership in achieving the first 6 “9’s” (99.9999% reliability). Karl is an inventor with over forty patents and is an author of numerous publications.  He holds electrical engineering degrees with high distinction from Pennsylvania State University and Rutgers University, and participated in M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management executive development program.

John Boyd, (Emeritus)

John Boyd is the president of Intrepid Technologists, headquartered in Alexandria, VA. Recently the Director, Defense Biometrics and Forensics for the Department of Defense, he provided policy and technology oversight and guidance to the Services, agencies and other components. Boyd served as the Director of the Department of the U.S. Navy’s Identity Management Capability in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. As the technology lead for Identity Management in the maritime domain, he led solution development efforts in biometrics and forensics for strong identification of personnel.

Jim Cable

Jim has served for more than 18 years as CEO, president and board chairman of Peregrine Semiconductor, a provider of high-performance radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs).  He brings a wealth of experience in creating products to solve emerging and constantly changing market demands. Previously, Jim has served in multiple managerial positions at both the Hughes Microelectronics Center and Hughes Technology Center, overseeing hundreds of employees, as well as a department manager at Technology Integration for 14 years.  Jim is a recipient of the San Diego Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO reward. He holds a PhD and Master of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of California in Riverside.

Michael Chertoff

Michael is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of the Chertoff Group, which provides high-level strategic counsel to corporations and governments on a broad range of security issues as well as identifying and investing in early stage technology companies.  He served as the second Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush. Michael previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as Assistant U.S. Attorney General. Michael is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College (1975) and Harvard Law School (1978).

Tam Hulusi, (Emeritus)

Tam is a principal of Mycroft LLC, a technology strategy and innovation consulting group. Tam most recently served as Senior Vice President, Strategy & Innovation at HID Global.  He previously served as President of SMF Systems Technology Corp., a leading small-business Federal Government IT services provider and President of Newmark Technology Inc., an early stage RFID asset tracking company.  Tam is an inventor with nine patents.  He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the Institute of Polymer Science, University of Essex, and M.Sc. in Quantum Mechanics from the University of Sussex.  He is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s International Senior Management Program.

Sultan Meghji, (Emeritus)

Sultan Meghji, founder and Managing Partner at Virtova, is an international advisor to large enterprises, private equity firms, and governments. Sultan has led innovation, development, and commercialization of advanced technologies, life sciences, cyber security and financial services. Throughout his career, he has served in senior business and technology leadership and consulting positions at organizations including ABN AMRO, American Express, Monsanto, United Airlines and more.

Alex Rosal, (Emeritus)

Alex is an entrepreneur in the financial, identity management and mobile payments markets.  He is the Chairman and CEO of Securtech LLC, which integrates software solutions, biometrics and customized hardware to combat cyber-fraud. Prior to this, Alex served as COO for Tech Imagine, where he was instrumental in the innovation and implementation of new technology designed to simplify business processes.  Alex has extensive experience in the European, North and Latin American and Caribbean financial markets. Alex holds a Master of Computer Applications, Master of Reliability Engineering and an MBA from Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Guatemala, in conjunction with the University of Maryland.

Steve Sadove, (Emeritus)

Steve is the Principal at Stephen Sadove and Associates, and most recently served as Chairman and CEO at Sak’s 5th Avenue, leading the retailer to become one of the luxury sector’s most advanced websites. He also recently served as the Chairman of the (U.S.) National Retail Federation. Earlier in his career, he was president of Clairol, as well as the president of worldwide beauty care and nutritionals at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where he was instrumental in selling Clairol to Procter & Gamble. Currently, Sadove is an adviser to several companies focused on introducing innovative technology to the marketplace, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hamilton College and serves on the board of directors of Colgate-Palmolive, J.C. Penney, Aramark and Ruby Tuesday.  Sadove received a B.S. in Political Science and Government from Hamilton College and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Timothy Stratford

Tim is a Managing Partner at Covington & Burling LLP and Beijing office and a member of the International Trade, Corporate and Government Affairs Practice Groups, where he advises clients doing business in China and Chinese companies seeking to expand their businesses globally.  From 2005-10, he served as the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for U.S.-China trade relations.  Other than this period, he has lived in the greater China region since 1982, serving as General Counsel for General Motors’ China operations and Minister-Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy in Beijing.  Tim holds a B.A. from Brigham Young University, summa cum laude, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Didier Verstichel, (Emeritus)

Didier recently served as the Chief Compliance Officer of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).  He was previously the Chief Risk Officer and Director Enterprise Security & Architecture at SWIFT.  Prior to SWIFT, Didier served in several management roles at Mastercard Europe.  Didier holds degrees with Great Honour in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Computer Science, from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and a degree in Business Management from Solvay Brussels School.

Guang Yang

Guang is Founder and CEO of Finergy Capital, a Beijing-based private equity fund.  He is also a Partner of Nicklaus-China, which aids in the strategic, comprehensive and responsible growth of golf in China.  Guang was previously a Fund Manager and Executive Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst for  Templeton Global Equities.  Earlier in his career he was a Research Scientist at Harvard Medical School and also at Massachusetts General Hospital.  Guang holds a B.S. from the University of Science and Technology of China, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Australian National University.

Bob Eckel

Former President, CEO, and Board Member of MorphoTrust, Bob Eckel is a customer-focused leader known for producing profitable growth and providing insightful guidance during complex business transformation initiatives, such as strategic turnarounds and acquisition integration. Bob’s leadership has helped achieve great company recognition, including Biometrics Company of the Year from Frost & Sullivan and the James S. Cogswell Award for Security Excellence. With a portfolio of expertise in secure identity, biometrics, air traffic control, and defense systems, Bob has played instrumental roles in successful business expansions while at Raytheon and Hughes with a long history driving product commercialization and contract execution in U.S. high-tech commercial and government fields. Bob is also a recognized Mass High Tech and Boston Business Journal Tech Luminary and Innovation All-Star. Bob holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from UCLA and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and is a UCONN Academy of Distinguished Engineers’ Hall of Fame Inductee.  Bob holds nine systems and electronic patents and his work has been published throughout the management and system development fields.