We are First In.

RENNY MCPHERSON

Managing Partner

Renny began his career as a Marine Corps intelligence officer and served in Iraq and East Asia. He went on to work in national security and intelligence policy at RAND from 2007–2009, during which time he researched and analyzed issues pertaining to national security.

Renny’s work has been profiled in The Washington Post, NPR, and Inc.com. He is a graduate of Harvard College cum laude and Harvard Business School.

ARTHUR KARELL

Partner

He began his career as an attorney with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and then volunteered for service in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry officer, serving as a platoon commander and executive officer with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, and later as an advisor team leader with Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan. Following active duty, Arthur joined FiscalNote (NYSE: NOTE) as its fifth employee. As FiscalNote’s general counsel and head of corporate development, he helped grow the startup into a global policy and market intelligence platform. He then joined the legal team at Anduril Industries, where he led its defense technology contracting with special forces and international partners, and created Anduril’s corporate development team. He sourced, negotiated, and closed acquisitions of autonomous aircraft, submarine, and ground sensor companies. Arthur went on to join the founding team of Seashell Financial, a digital asset technology firm and became an advisor for Iris Technology Inc., a computer vision AI company.

Arthur received his A.B. from Harvard University and J.D. from the University of Virginia.

CLAUDIUS E. WATTS IV

Senior Advisor

Claudius E. Watts IV (“Bud”) is a private investor and founder of Meeting Street Capital. Meeting Street Capital is a private investment firm focused on early stage software businesses based in the Southeast.

Mr. Watts currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM), as a member of the boards of privately held Parkdale, Inc., Thread Bancorp, DebtBook, and as a Senior Advisor to The Carlyle Group.

Prior to founding Meeting Street Capital, Mr. Watts was a Partner and Managing Director at The Carlyle Group. He joined the firm in 2000 and led numerous aerospace and defense investments. He established Carlyle's Technology Buyout Group in 2004, led it until 2014, and retired from the firm in late 2017. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Watts was a Managing Director at Bowles Hollowell Conner & Co., where he founded and led the firm’s Defense, Aerospace and Technical Services Group. Before joining Bowles Hollowell, Mr. Watts served as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. During his service, he flew both the F-16 and A-10 aircraft and served in a number of leadership and operations management positions in the United States and abroad.

In addition to his current business activities, Mr. Watts serves as the Chairman of the Board of The Citadel Trust and on the board of The Citadel Foundation. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of The Belle W. Baruch Foundation and as Vice Chairman of the Roper St. Francis Foundation.

Mr. Watts earned a B.S. in electrical engineering cum laude from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

ISH BOYLE

Advisor, Go-to-Market

Aloysius “Ish” Boyle serves as Chief Executive Officer of Caveonix, a leader in automated cyber compliance and risk management for large commercial enterprises and federal government agencies. With two decades of leadership experience in cybersecurity, Boyle is passionate about driving innovation, operational excellence, and strategic growth.

Before joining Caveonix, Boyle served as Regional Vice President of Sales at Zscaler (Nasdaq: ZS), where he built go-to-market teams, scaled revenues and spearheaded initiatives to transform F500 organizations. He also held multiple roles at Splunk (Nasdaq: SPLK), working closely with leaders across sales, product, marketing and engineering to transform federal agencies and commercial enterprises data, cybersecurity and analytics-driven security operations.

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Boyle’s leadership philosophy is rooted in discipline, teamwork, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. He believes in continuously learning, taking on complex challenges, and surrounding himself with high-performing teams. These values drive Caveonix’s mission to simplify governance, mitigate risk, and reduce compliance costs so cybersecurity teams can spend more time defending their organizations and executing their strategic initiatives.

As CEO, Boyle is committed to scaling Caveonix’s operations and ensuring customers can maintain continuous compliance while eliminating inefficiencies in cyber risk management. Under his leadership, Caveonix is positioned to redefine how enterprises navigate the complexities of compliance in an ever-evolving regulatory landscape.

PATRICK METKE

Advisor, Strategy and Dual-Use Technology

Patrick brings extensive domain experience at the nexus of national security and the private sector. He is a management consultant in a global management consulting firm’s government practice, where he uses operational data science to solve interagency and defense client concerns. He also owns Hello Garage of Raleigh, a garage transformation business seeking to promote veteran- and military-spouse-operated ventures.

Recently retired after a 20+ year military career, Patrick served as a United States Army officer in a special mission unit and the Special Forces. Prior to Army special operations roles, he served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps.

Patrick received an MBA from London Business School, an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a BA from Hobart College.

BOBBY TUOHY

Advisor, Technology

Bobby brings deep experience in technology to First In as an Advisor. He is currently Head of Studio at 25 Madison focusing on supply chain. Previously, he was Director of Product at Flashpoint and Head of Product at Echosec Systems, a cybersecurity threat intelligence platform.

He has worked in operations, product management, and hardware design across government agencies, military units, and commercial companies. He conducts technical diligence and advises portfolio companies on technology and growth opportunities.

Bobby is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He received his MBA at Harvard Business School and a Master in Engineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

MAGGIE ENGLER

Advisor, Technology

Maggie Engler is a technologist and researcher focused on mitigating abuses in the online ecosystem. Currently, she leads technical safety work for Microsoft's consumer AI assistant, Copilot.

Previously, Maggie built machine learning systems for policy enforcement at Twitter and taught at the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. Before that, she led data science development at Global Disinformation Index and worked on authentication and modeling user behavior at Duo Security.

Maggie holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University with a Notation in Science Communication with distinction and was an Assembly fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

BRIAN SCHMANSKE

Advisor, Strategy and Dual-Use Technology

Brian Schmanske is a veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Senior Intelligence Service, successfully delivering space and ground technology solutions to operations. He recently focused on scaling and operationalizing artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities, working with non-traditional contractors and start-up firms to provide data and quickly deliver capabilities. He previously served in the United States Marine Corps, serving in Air Defense, Systems Acquisition, and Intelligence roles. Following government service, he founded a strategic advisory firm to help small companies penetrate the defense and intelligence marketplace.

Brian has a B.S in Electrical Engineering, with Honors, from the Pennsylvania State University and a D.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the George Washington University, where he conducted research on medical imaging and image quality. He also completed an MBA in Finance and Strategy Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating as a Palmer Scholar.

JASON SAUNDERS

Currently, Jason leads Wiz Strategic Alliances, where he oversees global partnerships with systems integrators worldwide. His strategic vision and leadership have been pivotal in driving revenue growth and expanding market presence for Wiz. Prior to joining Wiz, Jason was at Zscaler, where he managed the Global System Integration team for North America, delivering significant results in market penetration and partner engagement.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Jason is dedicated to mentoring and advising emerging entrepreneurs and start-ups. His deep expertise in GTM strategy and sales leadership makes him a valuable asset for companies looking to refine their market approach and accelerate growth.

Jason holds a B.S. from Eastern Connecticut State University.

BRIAN O'KEEFE

Advisor

Brian is a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served for 20+ years in a wide variety of
intelligence, special operations, and interagency organizations. He is the co-founder
and former CEO of BNK Ventures (acquired May 2022), former CEO of Vertical
Knowledge (acquired January 2024), and most recently served as the Executive Vice
President, Data at Babel Street. Brian currently serves on the Babel Street advisory
board.

He is the founder of and principal at Sagamore Hill Consulting, an advisory firm focused
on the development of revenue generating strategic partnerships for national security
focused technology companies.

Brian holds a B.S. in Administration and Management, an M.S. in Strategic Leadership,
and is currently pursuing a PhD in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University.