OODA helps our clients identify, manage, and respond to global risks and uncertainties while exploring emerging opportunities and developing robust and adaptive strategies for the future.

OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts lead by co-founders Matt Devost and Bob Gourley. Matt and Bob have been collaborating for two decades on advanced technology, intelligence, and security issues.  Our team is capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, investment and due diligence, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.

Matt is a technologist, entrepreneur, and international security expert specializing in counterterrorism, critical infrastructure protection, intelligence, risk management and cyber-security issues. Matt co-founded the cyber security consultancy FusionX from 2010-2017. Matt was President and CEO of the Terrorism Research Center/Total Intel from 1996-2009. (LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram)

Bob is the former CTO for the Defense Intelligence Agency and is currently the founder of Crucial Point LLC. Bob has received the Infoworld top CTO award and was named one of the top 100 “Tech Titans” in DC by Washingtonian magazine. (LinkedIn | Twitter)

The OODA Network Experts

OODA maintains a diverse network of international specialists drawn from industry, government, and academia in the United States and dozens of international locations.  Our team maintains expertise in a variety of disciplines including counterterrorism, information warfare, low-intensity political violence, computer security, technology, intelligence, predictive analysis, risk and threat management, economic & geopolitical analysis, law enforcement, crisis response, national security, and defense policy.

Bob Flores is President and CEO of Applicology Incorporated, an independent consulting firm specializing in information technology issues. Prior to this, Bob spent 31 years at the Central Intelligence Agency. While at CIA, Bob held various positions in the Directorate of Intelligence, Directorate of Support, and the National Clandestine Service. Bob was the CIA’s Chief Technology Officer where he was responsible for ensuring that the Agency’s technology investments matched the needs of its mission. In addition to his senior level leadership and management positions, Bob’s career included assignments in applications programming, training and education, contract and project management, and both line and staff management roles at various levels of the Agency.

Bob Bigman is the former Chief Information Security Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency. He provides cyber consulting services to CISOs, CIOs, CTOs, CDOs and government and business technology leaders. Consulting services include, cyber security risk assessments, cyber security program reviews, programmatic and technical security recommendations, briefings/training and policy/standards development. 

Gal Shpantzer has 18 years of information security consulting experience, with clients including cloud-native startups, Ivy League universities, NGOs and Fortune 50 corporations. Gal contributed to two global standards in security and privacy in the energy sector (DoE ES-C2M2 and NIST IR 7628), and is a SANS Newsbites co-editor since 2002.

Mark Weatherford is Senior Vice President and Chief Cybersecurity Strategist at vArmour. He has more than 20 years of security operations leadership and executive-level policy experience in some of the largest and most critical public and private sector organizations in the world. At vArmour, Mark focuses on helping customers understand the rapidly evolving security requirements of the cloud and 21st century data center technologies.

Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is an experienced Board member and strategic consultant with proven ability to translate military leadership principles into corporate pillars of performance, productivity and profit.  Paul led the Presidential Transition for the Intelligence Community. He is a strategic planner, risk manager, talent developer and cyber security professional with both corporate governance and oversight expertise. He has built and led large, diverse international teams in peace, crisis and combat. 

Melvin Cordova is an innovation champion for DOD and the Intelligence Community, with 30 years of government service and served as Secretariat of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Innovation Advisory Board. As a Senior Program Manager he made investments to solve the most critical operational and strategic challenges in IT, Analysis, HUMINT, and MASINT. He is recognized as the most effective and efficient government investor in the In-Q-Tel Program. Currently he provides operational advisory services to innovative companies doing business with DoD/IC with a focus is on identifying emerging threats, and managing the velocity and complexity of technology innovation change for high stakes environments. He earned a stellar reputation by building winning teams, driving accelerated growth, and developing strong customer relationships with with both the technical communities and the end users.

Dr. Pete Bythrow joined DIA after a 20 year career in academia and laboratories. He was appointed the first Chief Scientist of the Central Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) Organization in October 2000. He is now Chief Scientist and Director of R&D for the National MASINT Office (NMO). As NMO’s Chief Scientist he is Principal MASINT Advisor on Science, Technology, Research and Development that apply to Community MASINT. He also organizes and oversees the advanced R&D conducted by NMO to maintain a viable and responsive Research and Development program focused on the needs of the intelligence community and the MASINT Functional Manager. Dr. Bythrow leads the National Consortium for MASINT Research (NCMR), over twenty university, laboratory and industry partners who leverage, promote and conduct research applicable to the MASINT discipline. 

Junaid Islam has 30 years of experience in secure communications solutions.  Junaid started his career in 1989 building data networks for US and Canadian government agencies in South America and the Middle East.  From 1994 onwards Junaid has focused on developing network protocols for commercial and US government applications including Frame Relay, MLPP, MPLS and Mobile IPv6. Most recently Junaid led the development of Software Defined Perimeter (SDP).  Currently Junaid is focused on developing countermeasures to protect America from state sponsored cyberattacks.

Chris Ward, Commander, U.S. Navy (Retired) has over 30 years of experience helping the Department of Defense (DoD) solve difficult technology requirements.  She has a proven track record of building, maintaining, securing and certifying technology solutions for use within DoD.  She works with Industry to identify key opportunities and provides strategic guidance and support. 

Steven W. Bailey is a Force Master Chief US Navy SEAL (retired) who served a full 25-year career solely as a U.S. Navy Seal. Since his retirement from the US Navy he continued service to his country as an Independent Contractor conducting operations and teaching Weapons and Tactics for USG and DOD. Mr. Bailey uses his skills in the private sector as a Security Consultant both domestically and internationally. His combined career of over 43 years has taken him to six of seven continents and provided him with a wide array of hostile environments in which to hone his skills, from close quarters combat to the battlefield itself, in all conditions day and at night. He conducts his work from the vantage point of a certified trainer of U.S. Navy Seals, USG and DOD personnel and as a man who still serves on an as needed, when needed, basis. Mr. Bailey is as comfortable in a multinational boardroom as he is in a theatre of combat. He has briefed some of the senior-most military officers in the multinational services, senior people from any number of government agencies – both U.S. and foreign, as well as countless diplomats. More recently he has been sought out for speaking to, training and protecting the leadership and management teams from huge global organizations. He has trained hundreds of Special Forces and USG personnel globally for decades, and still trains these personnel as the need arises. He also trains law enforcement officers, and increasingly trains corporate executives, high net worth individuals, and other private citizens.

Ric Prado is a former Senior executive in the Directorate of Operations (DO) of the Central Intelligence Agency, with twelve years in the CIA’s Counter Terrorist Center (CTC) and ten years in the Special Activities Division. Highly decorated Operations Officer with extensive operational and senior management experience in counterterrorism, counter-insurgency, Latin America, East Asia and Middle East operations. Recognized counterterrorism, security and special operations experience, including close working association with the US intelligence, military SPECOPS, law enforcement communities and the National Security Council. Native Spanish speaker.

John P. Sullivan is a career police officer and founder of the Terrorism Early Warning Group. He recently retired as a lieutenant with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department where he was assigned to the Emergency Operations Bureau. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies on Terrorism (CAST). His research focuses on counterinsurgency, intelligence, terrorism, transnational gangs, and urban operations. He is co-editor Countering Terrorism and WMD: Creating a Global Counterterrorism Network (Routledge, 2006).

Mark Hogan is a security expert specializing in critical infrastructure protection, intelligence, cybersecurity and risk management. Mark is currently the Chief of Security for a midwestern city. Mr. Hogan is the chair of the Emergency Services Sector’s cyber working group and is helping the sector identify and manage cyberthreats across the sectors varied complex operational environments. Mr. Hogan has been working on web based solutions for information sharing and analysis for many years in an attempt to identify threats in a timely manner and close the gaps to provide the right info to the right folks in a timely yet secure manner.

Michael Tanji spent nearly 20 years in the US intelligence community. Trained in both SIGINT and HUMINT disciplines he has worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office. At various points in his career he served as an expert in information warfare, computer network operations, computer forensics, and indications and warning. A veteran of the US Army, Michael has served in both strategic and tactical assignments in the Pacific Theater, the Balkans, and the Middle East.

Cofer Black is an internationally recognized expert in counterterrorism and national security matters. He currently provides high-level, strategic consulting to Fortune 500 companies, focusing on cyber security, national security, and foreign affairs. Previously, Cofer was Vice President for Global Operations at Raytheon-Blackbird Technologies, responsible for providing corporate support to US Government and international customers, and representing new cybersecurity concepts and products to customers. He served the U.S. Department of State as Ambassador at Large for Counterterrorism from 2002 – 2004, following a 28-year career at CIA which included serving as Director of CIA’s Counterterrorist Center.  He conceived, planned, and led CIA’s role in the war in Afghanistan.

Robert G. Richer served as Associate Deputy Director for Operations at the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) from 2004 to November 2005. As the ADDO, Mr. Richer was responsible for leading the Clandestine Services’ worldwide collection and operational efforts with specific focus on national security priorities and threats. He brought to that position more than twenty years service focused on national collection and operational priorities, the Middle East and the war against terrorism. During his years of service he developed unique relationships with key foreign officials and leaders; particularly in the Middle East and South Asia. Prior to his assignment as the ADDO in 2004, Mr. Richer was the Chief of the Near East and South Asia Division, responsible for Clandestine Service Operations throughout the Middle East and South Asia. In that leadership role, Mr. Richer directed the Clandestine Service’s roles in the prosecution of the war in Iraq, reinforced critical relationships with foreign governments and intelligence services on issues of national importance throughout the Middle East and South Asia, and participated in national security policy deliberations. Mr. Richer has been awarded numerous awards and commendations from a number of foreign governments. Additionally during his Agency career, he has received commendations and awards to include the Intelligence Commendation Medal in both 1993 and 1996; the Director’s Award in 2004 and in March 2006, Mr. Richer was awarded the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal.

Dr. Robert Bunker is a Counter-Narco Insurgency Program Instructor for the Los Angeles High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (LA HIDTA), Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Adjunct Faculty, School of Politics and Economics (SPE), Claremont Graduate University. He has delivered over two-hundred presentations— including papers and training—to law enforcement, military, academic and policy audiences including US Congressional Testimony. He has over two-hundred publications ranging from edited books and booklets through reports, chapters, articles/essays, response guidance, subject bibliographies and encyclopedia entries in academic, policy, law enforcement, and military venues. Among those are the work Red Teams and Counterterrorism Training (with Steve Sloan) and the edited works including Narcos Over the Border: Gangs, Cartels and Mercenaries, and Criminal-States and Criminal-Soldiers, Networks, Terrorism and Global Insurgency, and Non-State Threats and Future Wars .

Captain Kevin R. McCarthy, Delta Air Lines (Ret.), Principal, MoonRaker Associates, advising on transportation security and operations solutions, resilience, and other aspects of critical infrastructure protection. With over 33 years experience flying commercial and U.S. Air Force aircraft, Captain McCarthy was selected as one of Delta Airlines’ first captains of the new Boeing 777. During his career with Delta, Captain McCarthy served as an expert advisor on aviation and operations security to the U.S. government and the airline industry. As a senior official in the Air Line Pilots Association International, he notably directed the industry’s first Office of Intelligence & Emerging Threats.

Adam Elkus is an analyst specializing in foreign policy and security. He is also a Technology Research Analyst at CrucialPoint LLC, an Editor at Red Team Journal, and a PhD student in American University’s School of International Service. He has published on technology, strategic theory, and emerging threats in The Atlantic, West Point Combating Terrorism Center Sentinel, Infantry, Small Wars Journal, and other publications. He holds an MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University.”

Rebecca Givner-Forbes started her career as a counterterrorism and Middle East analyst in 2004 at the Terrorism Research Center after graduating from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. She will graduate from Georgetown University Law Center in May 2012, where she has focused on National Security law subjects and has continued to work part-time as an analyst. She has authored or co-authored several studies on counterterrorism and Middle Eastern politics for several US government agencies, law enforcement entities, and private companies. During 2007 and 2008, she worked in Singapore as the head of a Middle East analysis team at a counterterrorism think tank at Nanyang Technological University and earned a Master of Science degree in Strategic Studies. From 2004 to 2010, Rebecca also provided training to government, military, and private sector clients in counterterrorism, Arabic language and Arab culture, and Jihadist strategy and ideology. She speaks and reads Arabic, which she studied at Georgetown University, in Cairo, Egypt and in Damascus, Syria.

Dr. Chris Flaherty is a commentator on security, defence and counter terrorism research, its application, and project management. Currently living in London. He is involved in the development of a “Scripted Agent Based Microsimulation Project”. This project began at the University of New South Wales, and has moved to the University of Wollongong (NSW, Australia). As well, this research incorporates affiliate team membership with the London Metropolitan Business School: Centre for International Business and Sustainability. He has also developed basic research and tools for vulnerability and resilience analysis. His current research work is on 3D Tactics and counter terrorism building vulnerability analysis for mass gathering commercial, industrial and shopping areas. He is currently a Senior Risk Consultant at Greymans Limited. And was recently made a Fellow of the UK Security Institute (April 2010).

Michael Brooks is an OODA analyst with a background in strong scholarship in international relations, regional studies, and world religions. He is also a freelance researcher, writer, and editor, contributing international analysis to a variety of print and online publications.

Alex Olesker is a Technology Research Analyst that specializes in science, technology, and security. He has experience working with law enforcement, private intelligence, multi-national corporations, and academia, and has written and lectured on terrorism, international security, infrastructure protection, investigations, intelligence, policing, cybersecurity, and analytics. Alex graduated from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Shlok Vaydia is currently Neoplat‘s Director of Product Management. He leads the team that builds tools, methodologies, and thinking that empowers governments, corporations, and communities to adapt to an increasingly uncertain future. He was recently named one of the top 100 tech entrepreneurs in New Orleans. Prior to this, Shlok was an Energy Security Analyst with a top think tank. There he examined global energy trends with a focus on infrastructure and the threat of supply disruption. Shlok’s work is deeply influenced by his strong understanding of the future of terrorism, technology, and governance. His insight is regularly published in various books, media outlets and quoted by some of the world’s smartest thinkers on warfare, intelligence, and peak oil.

Mark Mateski has served as both an analyst and a manager at a number of defense and security organizations, Mark has directed wargames, conferences, studies, and assessments covering a range of topics. For well over a decade he has been a thought leader in the red teaming community and has pioneered the application of systems engineering principles, techniques, and tools to the practice of red teaming. Dr. Mateski has earned degrees in political science, national security studies, and systems engineering. He is currently an executive security and strategy consultant and teaches eight different graduate courses for the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at The George Washington University.