About

 

We are a diverse team of strategists, designers, and engineers solving complex challenges to deploy advanced and rapid customer solutions.

Pacific Defense Employees

Pacific Defense is designed to support the DoD’s disciplined movement to modular open standards and to mirror the way military services address EMS warfare – holistic mission planning and execution. The company’s approach inherently enables what it refers to as a rapid prototyping paradigm – embedding a commercial mentality into the defense industry. Products are designed from the outset for modern, AI-driven autonomy and CMOSS and SOSA-aligned hardware and software solutions. This includes state-of-the-art processing that can readily follow the evolution of commercial technology with complete data sharing across networks and platforms.

Headquartered in El Segundo, California, Pacific Defense takes an organic, commercial-minded approach to military-use electromagnetic spectrum technologies, and solutions. Focus areas include autonomous systems, command and control, communications, cyber operations, intelligence collection, and electronic warfare. Spectranetix, Perceptronics, and Spear Research are part of the Pacific Defense family, specializing in highly-advanced RF spectrum technologies, and engineering with innovative AI-backed algorithms.

 

Meet Our Leadership

 
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Travis Slocumb

Travis Slocumb
Chief Executive Officer
Travis Slocumb

Travis Slocumb
Chief Executive Officer

Travis Slocumb is CEO of Pacific Defense and an Operating Partner of Emerald Lake Capital. At Pacific Defense, Travis leads a proven team of highly skilled engineering talent that solves complex customer challenges with integrated electromagnetic hardware and software solutions.

Travis is a proven technology executive delivering industry leading financial results, with experience as a product line general manager, strategist, business development leader, and chief technology officer. Prior to his role as CEO of Pacific Defense, Travis launched and led the Electronic Warfare Systems (EWS) business unit at Raytheon Technologies, including programs like Next Generation Jammer, ALR-69A, ALR-67-V3, towed decoys, EWPMT, and several strategic classified efforts. He also served as VP of Business Development and Strategy, successfully developing, and implementing, a market and technology driven growth strategy that propelled Raytheon’s Space and Airborne Systems segment to a top performer in Aerospace.

Travis earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He currently resides in Southern California near Pacific Defense headquarters and is an avid surfer on both coasts.

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Tom Quast

Tom Quast
VP Business Development
Tom Quast

Tom Quast
VP Business Development

Tom Quast leads strategy, capture and new business development efforts for Pacific Defense, which include industry-leading Modular Open Standards (MOSA) products, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) solutions, and integrated multi-function radio frequency (MFRF) system and sensors.

Prior to joining our team, Tom worked for Raytheon Technologies, where he served as Product Line lead for International Space Systems, Senior Capture Leader for various space and airborne systems pursuits and campaigns including surface electronic warfare (EW), intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, airborne self-protect EW, and Global Positioning System (GPS) user equipment.

Tom started his career in the United States Air Force and earned bachelor's and master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Rockhurst University.

Tom is an active member of the Association of Old Crows (AOC) and in his free time he enjoys hockey and running.

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Rick Lu

Rick Lu
Chief Strategy Officer
Rick Lu

Rick Lu
Chief Strategy Officer

Rick Lu is the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and a member of the Board of Directors of Pacific Defense.

Rick leads efforts in shaping our enterprise technology roadmap in lockstep with our Department of Defense and Allies’ customer needs. In addition, Rick heads our Congressional Affairs coordination for the corporation.

Rick has extensive executive and technical managerial experience of wireless technologies in the Aerospace & Defense Industry since 1996, specifically in the Communications/Electronic Warfare/C4ISR industry since 2000. Prior to his CSO role, Rick was the Founder and President & CEO of Spectranetix, Inc, which was acquired in 2020. Prior to that he was the Founder and President & CEO of NetworkFab Corporation, which was acquired in 2007.

Rick earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from UCLA. He also has two advanced Master's degrees from Stanford University in both Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering and Engineering Management. He currently resides in Silicon Valley and loves entrepreneurship.

 
 
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Kent Mader

Kent Mader
Chief Operating Officer
Simply Easy Learning

Kent Mader
Chief Operating Officer

As COO, Kent leads Operations, Human Resources, IT, Security, Marketing Communications and General Administration supporting leadership and employees.

Prior to Pacific Defense, Kent worked at AT&T as Vice President of Finance Operations leading Payments, Payroll, Sales Compensation, Workers Compensation and Risk/Fraud Management teams. Prior to AT&T, Kent led Customer Risk Management at DIRECTV covering risk management of the consumer and commercial customer bases.

Kent earned his Accounting degree at USC and enjoys skiing, hiking, and traveling.

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Dr. Dan Kilfoyle

Dr. Daniel Kilfoyle
Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Daniel Kilfoyle

Dr. Daniel Kilfoyle
Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Daniel Kilfoyle is currently serving as Chief Technology Officer for Pacific Defense, specializing in non-kinetic warfare defense technology. His responsibilities include leading technology development with an emphasis on CMOSS/SOSA compliant electronic warfare products with embedded artificial intelligence.

Previously, he served as Technical Director for the Electronic Warfare Systems Mission Area in the Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems business area. As a Raytheon Principal Engineering Fellow, his responsibilities were to guide investment and technology focus areas including the Next Generation Jammer program, numerous legacy EW self-protection systems, command and control countermeasures, cyber programs, and the confluence of these areas. For nearly 20 years prior to this role, he captured and executed a range of research and development programs spanning the domains of radar and communications electronic attack, spectrum sensing, special communications, and advanced signal processing for customers such as DARPA, IARPA, and Army I2WD.

Dan holds a doctorate in Electrical and Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dan enjoys walking his dogs and hiking in our national parks. He’s an avid Red Cross platelet donor as well (over 700 units donated!).

 
 
 
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Scott Hoffman

Scott Hoffman
Chief Financial Officer
Scott Hoffman

Scott Hoffman
Chief Financial Officer

Scott leads the finance, accounting, legal, and contracts functions for Pacific Defense.

Prior to Pacific Defense, Scott worked for Raytheon Technologies, where he served as the Finance Director for the Electronic Warfare Systems (EWS) business unit for five years. Scott began his career with Raytheon as part of the Financial Leadership Development Program (FLDP) and held a variety of positions before ultimately leading EWS Finance.

Scott earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Babson College in Babson Park, MA. He loves spending time with his growing family and when time allows enjoys hockey, skiing, and going to the beach.

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Randy Huang

Randy Huang
SVP of Engineering & Technology
Randy Huang

Randy Huang
SVP of Engineering & Technology

Our newest addition to the team, Randy Huang is the Senior Vice President of Engineering & Technology, leading our cutting edge Engineering team in the direction towards company growth – low-rate/full-rate production and sustainment.

Prior to joining our team, Randy worked for Raytheon Technologies, where he served as Deputy Mission Area Chief Engineer and Engineering Director for Space Systems within the Raytheon Intelligence & Space business. He also served as Chief Engineer on various programs over 12 years including a large proprietary RF space program, Next Generation Jammer ALQ-249(V)1 with successful delivery of the first two Design Test (DT) pods to NAVAIR. He also served as Chief Engineer for the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) program with successful delivery of the second flight payload to NASA.

Randy earned a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a Masters' degree from University of Southern California in Electrical Engineering. He loves snowboarding with his family, enjoys travelling around the world, and is an avid digital / film photographer.

 
 

Strategic Advisory Council

 
 
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Alan Shaffer

Alan Shaffer
Alan Shaffer

Alan Shaffer

Most recently serving as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition & Sustainment), Mr. Shaffer has a long, distinguished career in service to our nation in both civilian and military roles. Before entering the federal government in 2000, Mr. Shaffer served 24 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force and retired in the grade of Colonel, holding positions in command, weather, intelligence, and acquisition oversight. He has employed these skills furthering our nation’s science and technology progress at home and abroad, including three years as Director of the NATO Collaboration Support Office, where he was responsible for promoting S&T collaboration in the 5,000-scientist-strong NATO network.

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John Whitley

John Whitley
John Whitley

John Whitley

Most recently serving as the acting Secretary of the Army, Dr. Whitley has served in a variety of roles in national security. Over the course of his career, he has served as an infantry soldier in the Army, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller (Army CFO), and led Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has also worked in the Department of Homeland Security and in the U.S. Senate. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago and undergraduate degrees from Virginia Tech.

 
 

About Pacific Defense

Headquartered in El Segundo, California, Pacific Defense has assembled a portfolio of industry leading technology companies including: Spectranetix (based in Sunnyvale CA), Perceptronics Solutions (based in Falls Church VA), and Spear Research (based in Nashua NH). Pacific Defense was formed to support the DoD’s disciplined movement to modular open standards, including CMOSS/SOSA, and to mirror the way military services address EMS warfare with holistic mission planning and execution. Pacific Defense takes an organic, commercial-minded approach to developing military-use advanced solutions delivering EW, SIGINT, Comms and C2 capabilities to the DoD. Products are designed from the outset for modern, AI-driven autonomy with CMOSS and SOSA-aligned hardware and software. This includes state-of-the-art processing that can readily follow the evolution of commercial technology with complete data sharing across networks and platforms.

 

Pacific Defense Media Contact

For more information contact:
info@pacific-defense.com