Visionary. Forward-leaning. Curious. Mission-focused.

Chris Darby has served as President and CEO of In-Q-Tel since September 2006, where is also a member of its Board of Trustees. Chris also serves on the National Security Commission for Artificial Intelligence, an appointment granted in 2019. Prior to In-Q-Tel, Chris was Vice President and General Manager at Intel, where he oversaw the Middleware Products Division. At Intel, he had responsibility for the corporation’s Infrastructure Software business, including open source and commercial products. He joined Intel in August 2005 with the acquisition of Sarvega, a venture-backed supplier of XML networking and security products, where Chris served as President and CEO.

Prior to Sarvega, he was the Chairman and CEO of @stake, the well-known Internet security consulting firm ultimately acquired by Symantec (SYMC). While at @stake, he assembled the world’s leading collection of security researchers and built a business that spanned North America and Europe.

Chris also previously served as President and CEO of Interpath Communications, which was later acquired by US Internetworking (USIX). He held several executive positions at Digital Equipment Corporation (now Hewlett-Packard) with responsibility for telecom industry initiatives, corporate strategy, and alliances. He began his career at Northern Telecom (now Nortel Networks) and Bell Northern Research.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario.

Steve Bowsher serves as President of IQT. He previously served as Managing General Partner and Executive Vice President at In-Q-Tel, leading the company’s investment strategy since 2006. In addition to approving all deals in partnership with CEO Chris Darby, Bowsher has personally managed In-Q-Tel’s relationships with Palantir, Databricks, MongoDB, Anaconda, Initiate Systems, Cleversafe, Cloudera, Immersive Wisdom, Reversing Labs, and others. Bowsher joined In-Q-Tel from InterWest Partners, where he served as General Partner for eight years.

Previously, Bowsher worked at E*TRADE. During his tenure there, he helped launch Destination E*TRADE, the company’s award-winning website. Bowsher was also an early stage employee at two startup companies, where he was responsible for revenue and distribution targets. 

Outside of work Bowsher supports two terrific not-for-profits making the world a better place, Coaches Across Continents and StreetCode Academy.

Bowsher graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and received his MBA from Stanford. 

Matthew Strottman joined In-Q-Tel in 2003 and currently serves as Chief Operating Officer. In this position he is responsible for investment selection and analysis, technology transfer activities which includes engineering operations and systems engineering as well as the organization’s corporate functions including finance, accounting, IT, human resources, and security. Prior to his appointment to COO, Strottman served as IQT’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Before joining In-Q-Tel, Strottman worked in the Technology Investment Banking Group at Friedman Billings Ramsey. During his time at FBR, he executed public and private equity financing, merger and acquisition, restructuring, and venture capital transactions totaling more than $3 billion. Strottman began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he focused primarily on the real estate and technology industries.

Strottman received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from Georgetown University.

In her role as Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff, Lisbeth Poulos assists in developing and implementing business strategies designed to improve IQT’s effectiveness and efficiency. She serves as the central coordinator of executive activities (operations and planning) and ensuring the timely flow of information to and from the executive office. Poulos is responsible for raising awareness of the In-Q-Tel model among government agencies and other stakeholders, including the executive and legislative branches. In addition, she advises in the development of strong relationships with IQT’s client Agencies to help them effectively work within the IQT framework, facilitating the development and implementation of strategies to assist partner Agencies to effectively work with IQT to obtain emerging technology solutions and technology advice for their mission needs.

Poulos also supports the development and implementation of comprehensive communications and messaging strategy for IQT, providing education and awareness of IQT’s model, portfolio companies, and view of technology trends and impact to a variety of audiences including government, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, etc. Poulos manages IQT’s relationship with Board Trustees, to include planning and coordinating meetings and agendas. As Chief of Staff, Poulos manages the day-to-day activities of IQT’s staff as well as the organization’s business relationship with its CIA interface center.

Prior to joining IQT, Poulos worked in the Intelligence Community, as well as in the private sector for companies including BAE Systems and MicroStrategy. Poulos earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the College of William and Mary.

Peter Tague serves as the Executive Vice President responsible for IQT International and IQT Labs. Since its inception in 2018, IQT International has made investments in startups across multiple countries and technologies from offices in London and Sydney.  IQT Labs leads collaborative, open-source applied research projects in deep tech fields relevant to our partners’ mission. 

Prior to joining IQT, Mr. Tague was Vice Chairman and Co-Head of Citi’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions franchise, which saw significant revenue and share growth under his leadership. Over 30 years in investment banking, he held a series of leadership positions while living in the U.S. and abroad. Peter’s track record as an advisor and investor includes successful business combination and capital raising transactions across a wide range of industries and geographies. Additionally, he has significant experience around corporate governance and national security in cross-border deal flow.

Dr. Megan Anderson is the Executive Vice President for Technology Programs at IQT. In this role she oversees the technology practices, the program management team, and the project engineering teams in their delivery of strategic technical solutions to the Intelligence Community. Previously, Dr. Anderson led the Enterprise Technology Practice that was responsible for identifying and executing investments across a wide range of technologies including advances in artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and cybersecurity. Before that, Dr. Anderson managed the Field Technology Practice and oversaw strategy development and execution of investment activity in technical areas including electronics, communications, materials, power, optics, sensors, Internet of Things, and commercial space. Dr. Anderson began her career at IQT on the Technical Staff as a subject matter expert in the fields of materials, manufacturing, and biology. 

Prior to joining IQT in 2010, Megan worked as a Senior Scientist at Fluidigm Corporation, where she developed multiple products for next-generation sequencing applications. Dr. Anderson holds a bachelor’s degree in both applied mathematics and general biology from the University of California, San Diego, and a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from the California Institute of Technology. 

Simon Davidson is an Executive Vice President responsible for IQT Emerge, a new effort focused on developing technology ideas and innovations from U.S. government-funded R&D initiatives and nurturing them to support the mission needs of the U.S. national security community. Davidson served previously as a Managing Partner and head of East Coast Investments for In-Q-Tel, identifying and leading strategic investments in the Field Technologies practice. Davidson also serves as a Board Observer for several IQT portfolio companies.

Prior to rejoining IQT, Davidson was an EVP at Allied Minds, an IP commercialization investor focused on early-stage development within the technology sector. He oversaw the Technology portfolio, including origination of new deals and oversight of existing portfolio companies and sat on the Investment Committee as part of the Executive Team.

Davidson began his career as a strategy consultant at Andersen Consulting and then as a technology banker at JP Morgan. He has held senior investment positions at JP Morgan Communication Partners and Fidelity Ventures, and business development roles at Sarvega, a venture-backed start-up and subsequently at Intel.

Davidson is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, Australia, where he earned a Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Economics and Accounting.

Dr. Tara O’Toole is an Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow at In-Q-Tel. Since 2014, she has directed B.Next, IQT’s initiative devoted to identifying and accelerating biotechnologies that could help detect, manage and quench epidemics of infectious disease, whether natural or deliberate. B.Next strives to create an “ecosystem of innovation” – including government, the private sector and academia, around issues related to the life sciences, biotechnology and national security. 

Prior to joining IQT, Dr. O’Toole served as Under Secretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security. In this role, she was responsible for scientific and technological research designed to provide new security and resilience innovations. Her accomplishments included the creation of a cybersecurity research division; the establishment of a robust R&D portfolio review process; developed strong collaborations with other federal R&D organizations; and delivered multiple technologies to DHS operational components that improved mission effectiveness and efficiency. 

From 1999-2009, Dr. O’Toole was the CEO and Director of two university-based think tanks devoted to improving the country’s resilience to major biological threats. While leading the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense, Dr. O’Toole also served as a Professor of Public Health. She was appointed Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh while directing the UPMC Center for Biosecurity. Her publications in the biodefense field include pandemic response scenarios such as Dark Winter and Atlantic Storm, as well as peer-reviewed papers on contagious disease epidemics; biodefense research and development strategies; and hospital preparedness. 

Dr. O’Toole also served as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environment, Safety and Health from 1993-97 where she made key contributions to the assessment and stabilization of pollution and special nuclear materials at the Nation’s nuclear weapons complex. In 1995, she lead a national delegation to Russia to assist in the evaluation of the human health effects due to the former Soviet Union’s nuclear weapons program. Prior to becoming Assistant Secretary, Dr. O’Toole was a senior analyst at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. She also served for five years as a general internist in Baltimore Community Health Centers as part of the National Public Health Service. 

Dr. O’Toole has a bachelor’s degree from Vassar College, an M.D. from George Washington University, and a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University. She completed internal medicine residency training at Yale University and a fellowship in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. She was chair of the board of the Federation of American Scientists and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Liz Fox is an admittedly inexperienced but pretty good mother of three small children and enjoys cooking and skiing in her invisible spare time. Fox’s alter ego, however, happily identifies as a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in marketing communications, operations, and people management.

Fox began her tenure with IQT in 2012 and over the years, oversaw the company’s administration, human resources, and recruitment. In this role, Fox observed the breadth of talent at IQT and learned to appreciate the staff’s dedication to mission. Fox pivoted to the Product Marketing and Communications team to return to her marketing roots and continue to serve the people of IQT and the company’s mission.

Fox joined IQT from The Washington Group of Northwestern Mutual, where she held the position of Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Fox was responsible for managing recruitment, coaching business development representatives, performance management programs/process, and human resources. Additionally, Fox supported the direction and implementation of the five-year strategic planning process. She began her time with The Washington Group as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, overseeing the company’s marketing operations.

Previously, with McKinley Marketing Partners, a staffing firm providing interim marketing and communications contractors to Fortune 500 companies, Fox directed marketing communications as well as the development of custom web applications for recruitment, project management, and, in particular, customer relations.

Fox began her career directing events and managing the design and build of exhibits for clients such as Lockheed Martin Corporation, the United States Air Force, and CoverGirl Eyewear.

Fox received a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross. She resides outside of Boston, and is in the company’s New England office, after spending the beginning of her tenure at IQT’s headquarters in Arlington, VA.

Mr. Gaffney joined IQT in 2017 as Executive Vice President and Senior Fellow. In his role he led IQT Labs and shifted their focus to research sprints aligned to real world use cases for IC and DoD customers applied using applied machine and deep learning.  As Senior Fellow, Gaffney applies his experience as a former government executive leader helping IQT develop and employ new strategic initiatives, business options, and partnerships and consulting IQT practices and customers to maximize the value proposition of the USG-IQT partnership. 

Prior to joining IQT, Gaffney enjoyed a 30-year career in science, technology, analysis, and operations within the U.S. Intelligence Community.  His government service included official USG positions as the Director of Science and Technology for the Central Intelligence Agency and as the Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Collection and Associate Director of the CIA for Talent.  Throughout his government career, he led new endeavors in tech development, technical analysis, technical collection operations, most notably in the areas of space and space launch systems, cyber, and identity intelligence.   Throughout his career he has developed and expanded partnerships across the public and private sectors both nationally and internationally in the defense, intelligence and security sectors. 

Gaffney holds a BS in Engineering Science with a focus in astrophysics from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. 

Dr. Michael G. Vickers is a former Special Forces Officer and Operations Officer in CIA’s Clandestine Service.  From 2011 to 2015, Vickers served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, and from 2007 to 2011 served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, Low-Intensity Conflict and Interdependent Capabilities.

Sarah’s international security career spans government and academia and combines hard security with values and ethics. She has served as Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, responsible for issues ranging from counterterrorism to refugees; a member of the Defense Policy Board under Secretaries Gates and Hagel; the inaugural Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Peacekeeping, and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.  

Dr. Sewall served on the Harvard Kennedy School faculty for a decade, where she also directed the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, pioneered research on civilian protection in war, and contributed to new operational military doctrine. She has been Minerva Chair at the Naval War College and the Speyer Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. A graduate of Harvard College, she received her doctorate from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar. 

As Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Bruce Adams manages In-Q-Tel legal affairs. Prior to joining In-Q-Tel, Mr. Adams was a partner at the law firm of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer.   Mr. Adams received his JD (Magna Cum Laude) from Boston University and received his BA (Honors) from Swarthmore College.