Business

Texas Gulf Bank

Vice Chairman

Texas Gulf Bank is a Houston-based community bank. I serve as Vice Chairman of its parent company, Texas Gulf Bancshares, and on the board of Texas Gulf Bank itself. Community banks do the lending that big national banks will not — to the small businesses, builders, and families who drive the Texas economy — and they do it in an era of rising regulatory burden and rapid technological change, from digital banking to artificial intelligence.

We take pride in personal, high-touch service. During COVID, every one of our customers received their PPP loans within the first four days of the program. We have a strong track record of adopting cutting-edge technology to serve our customers and improve how we work.

When I joined the board in 2007, the bank had not grown meaningfully in a decade and held just under $200 million in assets. By bringing in new talent and expanding into the Houston market, we are now closing in on $800 million in assets, and our wealth management business oversees more than $1.6 billion.

My work is governance: helping set strategy, overseeing risk, and serving on the board's Loan, Asset-Liability, Executive, Search, and Loan Review Committees, and as Chairman of the Compensation Committee. I am proud to have designed a new approach to aligning employees with owners through incentive stock options, restricted stock options, and synthetic stock options, and to have implemented a share buyback plan.

Hale Capital Partners

Venture Partner

At Hale Capital Partners, I help companies that serve America’s national security succeed in the federal marketplace. Some of the most important work in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, defense technology, and federal IT comes from companies with strong products that find Washington hard to navigate. They need to understand how the government buys, who the real decision-makers are, and how to turn a pilot into a program of record. Drawing on my years in Congress, I work alongside founders and management teams on those questions, and I help Hale Capital identify the next companies worth backing.

Hale Capital has been investing for 18 years and specializes in accelerating growth and profitability at technology and defense companies. I also helped raise the firm’s Fund V, meeting with hundreds of prospective investors across the United States and the Gulf States.

The goal is simple: get the capabilities America needs into the hands of the people who need them, so our country stays strong, prosperous, and free.

Churchill Capital Company

Real Estate Investment Banking · 2002–2018

For sixteen years I practiced real estate investment banking at Churchill Capital Company in Dallas, advising owners, developers, and investors on transactions across commercial real estate. It was a formative education in how capital actually moves — and how to structure it so everybody wins. I worked on deals of up to $1 billion across all property types. At Churchill, I helped build our merchant banking practice, bringing in deals and investors and building a portfolio of more than $150 million. I remain active in many of those investments and still keep a corner office at Churchill.

Qtonic Quantum

Board Advisor

I advise Qtonic Quantum on strategy and growth as quantum computing moves from the lab toward real-world application. The urgent problem is defensive: adversaries harvest encrypted data today to decrypt it when quantum machines mature, and federal deadlines under the NSA's CNSA 2.0 suite now require national security systems to begin migrating to post-quantum encryption. Companies that help banks, hospitals, pipelines, and government agencies make that migration will matter enormously — and Qtonic is building for exactly that moment.

Qi Venture Partners

Advisor

I advise Qi Venture Partners of New York and companies in its portfolio. I have advised QI companies on regulatory matters and helped build high-performing sales teams across the portfolio. I also source joint-venture opportunities in the technology sector.

Archangel Journeys

Advisor

I advise Archangel Journeys, a Dallas-based luxury travel company that designs exceptional, individualized journeys through Poland, partnering exclusively with travel advisors and their clients. Drawing on years of travel in Poland, and relationships built through the Warsaw Security Forum and the region’s security community, I help shape partnerships, itineraries, and the invitation-only experiences that set the company apart. Founded by U.S. Army veteran Makena Timmins, Archangel Journeys pairs personally vetted hotels, guides, and drivers with the strength, discipline, and care behind its name.

Everglades Analytics

Advisor

Everglades Analytics offers the first enterprise-ready causal AI platform for health care, empowering health systems to improve outcomes across care delivery and supporting operations, beginning with revenue cycle management.

I advise the founders on strategic positioning, customer discovery, and introductions to customers, partners, and industry relationships.

Private Investor

I have made private investments for 25 years in real estate, technology, private equity, and energy.