Executive Officers

Brandee Daly, 46 [Resigned 2-15-23]
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Brandee Daly is one of the leading women technology experts in government and business and has led an impressive 25-year career spanning roles at Amazon, Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, and the CIA. In 2021, Daly was named one of the “Top 20 Cloud Execs to Watch in 2021” by WashingtonExec. Prior to KnightSwan, Ms. Daly was the founder and CEO of C2S Consulting Group (“C2SCG”), a leading provider of innovative solutions, prototypes, and delivery of Cloud Cyber Security to the U.S. Intelligence Community, DoD, and U.S. Federal Civilian Agencies. At C2SCG, Daly guided hundreds of businesses and public sector organizations to successfully migrate, manage, and optimize their technology and cloud automation. From 2018 to 2021, Ms. Daly successfully grew firm-wide revenue significantly, expanding the service offering to encompass cloud migration, cyber, architecture, DevOps / DevSecOps, and cloud business strategy. Under Ms. Daly’s leadership, C2SCG became a multi-service global consulting firm, providing a range of technology consulting solutions to all 17 intelligence agencies, broader public sector, and commercial markets. Before founding C2SCG in 2015, Ms. Daly served as a Federal Account Executive at Amazon Web Services (“AWS”), cultivating executive relationships and accelerating sales and cloud adoption across IC and DoD government agencies. In this role, Ms. Daly directed a highly skilled team of personnel to offer a range of solutions to meet government missions including cloud defense and security solutions, AWS cloud architecture, application migration, DevOps, solutions to accelerate research and development (R&D), and IT business strategy services. At AWS, Ms. Daly built a highly skilled team of personnel with innovative technical expertise that is the leading provider of high-end cloud computing cyber security primarily supporting agencies across the U.S. Intelligence Community, offering Cloud Defense and Security solutions, AWS Cloud Architecture, Application Migration, DevOps, R&D, and IT Business Strategy services. While at Amazon, Ms. Daly won the 2015 Federal 100 award for “Leading the Cloud Migration,” one of the annual awards presented to the 100 women and men who personify what’s possible in how the federal government acquires, develops, and manages IT. Prior to AWS, Ms. Daly held a similar role at Microsoft as a Principal Architect, responsible for managing customers, projects, and budgets in the government sector. Ms. Daly joined Microsoft from the CIA, where she developed a five-year IT strategy for the Agency and started four new divisions, including one directed at Cloud Transformation. While at the CIA, Ms. Daly won several “Excellence Awards” for her work in supporting the Mission. Ms. Daly’s early career was spent at Oracle, where she served as the Technical Project Lead focused on application development for The President’s Council for the “Y2K Information Coordination Center.” In this role, Ms. Daly built and designed requirements for an information portal with over 100,000 users worldwide and in 72 countries. Ms. Daly’s work, and that of her team, became a foundation for what the cyber security industry is today. In 2000, under President Clinton, Ms. Daly was awarded the Directors Award for her work in preparing the U.S. Government for Y2K. That same year, Daly and her team received the Vice Presidential Hammer Award for Reinventing Government from Vice President Gore. Ms. Daly is a fierce advocate for supporting women’s initiatives in both technology and sports and is a proud sponsor of the Washington Spirit, the women’s professional soccer team in Washington, D.C. Ms. Daly received a Bachelor of Science in Systems and Industrial Engineering from University of Arizona and a Masters of Business Administration from American University.

Matthew McElroy, 32
Chief Financial Officer

Matthew McElroy is an experienced M&A accounting and finance leader. We believe Mr. McElroy’s previous experience in providing consulting and audit services to the Aerospace, Defense, and Government Services (“ADG”) industry qualifies him to lead KnightSwan’s due diligence processes on potential target companies. Prior to joining KnightSwan, from September 2018 to August 2021, Mr. McElroy led rigorous buy-side and sell-side financial due diligence engagements at Pipaya, a leading boutique M&A consulting firm that specializes in the ADG industry. In addition to providing financial due diligence services to corporate clients in the ADG industry, Mr. McElroy also acted in interim Chief Financial Officer roles, providing financial reporting and corporate accounting expertise and executive leadership. Prior to Pipaya, from September 2016 to September 2018, Mr. McElroy served in various roles, including as a Manager, in the Transaction Services Group at Grant Thornton, one of the world’s largest independent audit, tax, and advisory firms. While at Grant Thornton, Mr. McElroy executed numerous buy-side, sell-side, and divestiture transactions for both private equity and corporate clients across the ADG, technology, healthcare, and manufacturing industries. Before joining the Transaction Services Group, Mr. McElroy was an Engagement Lead in the Audit practice at Grant Thornton, focusing on the ADG and technology sectors for both publicly-traded and privately-held companies. Mr. McElroy received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Economics & Finance from University of Hartford and graduated summa cum laude. Since January 2020, Mr. McElroy has been the Vice President of the Alumni Association and ex officio Board of Trustee Members for Camp Dudley.

Board of Directors

Teresa Carlson, 59
Non-Executive Chair of the Board of Directors

Teresa Carlson is the President and Chief Growth Officer at Splunk Inc. (Nasdaq: SPLK). Ms. Carlson leads efforts to align and drive Splunk’s ongoing business transformations and go-to-market segments. Prior to Splunk, Ms. Carlson spent a decade at Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”), successfully launching Amazon’s Worldwide Public Sector and Industries Division for AWS. During her tenure, Ms. Carlson grew the Public Sector Division from its inception and pioneered the U.S. Government’s technological shift to the Cloud. Under her direction, AWS established the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) compliant GovCloud (U.S.-East) region in 2011, the commercial cloud services (C2S) contract for the intelligence community in 2014, and a second GovCloud region (U.S.-West) in 2018, setting the stage for future cloud regions for the defense and intelligence community. More broadly, Ms. Carlson’s strong belief that public sector customers should have access to the same advanced and innovative technology as startups led her to expand the scope of AWS in the public sector. Ms. Carlson has opened over 35 offices around the world, which now serve customers in over 172 countries. Ms. Carlson also created a startup, Envision Engineering, which was designed to quickly respond to the needs of governments and citizens during emergencies. Envision Engineering was instrumental in speeding governmental entities’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, and as a result of Ms. Carlson’s vision and early incubation efforts, over 7,500 government agencies, over 14,000 academic institutions, and over 35,000 nonprofit organizations use AWS to meet their missions. Outside of the U.S., Ms. Carlson worked closely with governmental bodies, educational institutions, telecommunications providers, and other businesses to guide the launch of AWS in Bahrain in 2019. Ms. Carlson has worked closely across the Middle East to promote the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in region, expanding opportunities for businesses to leverage cloud technologies within Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Ms. Carlson actively cultivates diversity, and formed “We Power Tech,” the backbone of AWS’ diversity and inclusion initiatives, to ensure that underrepresented groups are reflected throughout all of AWS’ outreach efforts. Ms. Carlson and her team developed and launched other education initiatives including AWS Educate, which created two and four year cloud curricula for colleges and universities worldwide, as well as Tech U, a program designed to recruit and cultivate diverse talent through the organization. Prior to joining AWS, Ms. Carlson spent nearly a decade at Microsoft where she successfully launched the company’s government agency division, Microsoft Federal. In her role, Ms. Carlson led strategy, execution of sales, partnering, contracting, business development, and performance world-wide. While overseeing Microsoft Federal, Ms. Carlson led Microsoft’s first cloud-based U.S. Government Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) Region, closed the first ever Office 365 deal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and closed the then-largest Enterprise Agreement with the U.S. Air Force, valued at over $330 million. As the leader of the U.S. Federal team, Ms. Carlson oversaw one of Microsoft’s largest divisions. Ms. Carlson received a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and a Master’s Degree in Speech and Language Pathology from Western Kentucky University. Ms. Carlson is a highly accomplished and award-winning Government IT executive, and was named as one of the 39 most important people in the cloud by Insider. The many awards acknowledging her contributions include: winning the Wash100 Award six times, being one of Washingtonian’s Tech Titans, winning the Fed100 Eagle Award, being named one of the top 12 executives in Fast Company’s most influential women in technology category, being inducted into The Washington Life Tech Hall of Fame by ACT-IAC, being acknowledged for her Distinguished Leadership by the Committee for Economic Development (CED), and being given the Lifetime Achievement Award by Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC). Ms. Carlson is currently on the board of directors of Commure, Inc. Ms. Carlson is the Vice Chair of the White House Historical Association (WHHA), is Secretary of the Economic Club of Washington, and sits on the boards of the Atlantic Council, 9-11 Pentagon Memorial Fund, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), and the National Security Institute (NSI) at George Mason University.

Anne K. Altman, 62
Director

Anne K. Altman is a respected global business leader, having worked for IBM for over three decades addressing complex business challenges within the government and commercial industries. Ms. Altman re-established IBM as a major force in the U.S. Federal market. Ms. Altman also led the company’s mainframe business, System Z, through one of the most significant product launches in the history of the industry. Ms. Altman is widely recognized for the development, growth, and mentoring of leaders both within IBM and the broader business community. Ms. Altman retired from IBM as General Manager, IBM U.S. Federal and Government Industries. In that role, Ms. Altman was responsible for IBM’s multi-billion dollar business with federal government clients and related industries in the United States. Prior to that role, Ms. Altman served as General Manager, IBM Public Sector, and had global responsibilities for government, healthcare, life sciences, and education. In this capacity, Ms. Altman also led IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative, helping organizations, states, and countries focus on transforming infrastructure, citizen-based services, healthcare, and education— all directed at improving economic vitality. In 2017, Ms. Altman co-founded “Everyone Matters, Inc.”, an organization focused on the advancement of individuals and social causes. Ms. Altman also serves as an independent director on the boards of SPX FLOW Inc. (NYSE: FLOW) since March 2015, Maximus Inc. (NYSE: MMS) since January 2017, TechFlow, Inc. since July 2016, Siemens Government Technologies, Inc. since February 2018, and Gunnison Consulting Group since September 2019. Across these boards, Ms. Altman serves as a member of Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Governance, and Information Technology committees. Ms. Altman also serves on the Board of the National Symphony Orchestra and the Dean’s Council of George Mason University, School of Business. Ms. Altman is also a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Ms. Altman received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from George Mason University.

Dr. Merlynn Carson, 38
Director

Dr. Merlynn Carson is the founder of Myriddian, a leading health IT consultancy serving both the government and private sectors. Dr. Carson has been CEO/President of Myriddian since 2012. Dr. Carson, a physician by training, has been a persistent innovator in healthcare through her integration of technology, data, and clinical medicine to help better understand our public health needs and improve overall outcomes for providers, payors, and patients. Under Dr. Carson’s leadership, Myriddian has won numerous awards, including Inc. 5,000 Fastest-Growing Companies and the Moxie Award for boldness in innovation. Dr. Carson is actively involved in both political and philanthropic initiatives. Dr. Carson is currently an engaged member of the Congressional Club, an Advisory Board Member of Winning for Women, and a Board Director of the White House Historic Association. Dr. Carson received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Maryland and a Doctorate of Medicine from American University of Antigua Manipal School of Medicine. Dr. Carson’s professional accolades have been recognized through numerous awards: Smart CEO Brava Award, which honors Female CEOs that are exemplary leaders of both their company and their community; the Maryland Tech Council’s 2021 Industry Awards Celebration, which named Myriddian as a finalist in the “Emerging Technology Company of the Year” category; American Excellence in Consulting and Leadership; and the Baltimore Business Journal “Rising Star,” a joint award with the Living Classrooms Foundation recognizing outstanding young leaders for their achievements and philanthropic efforts.

S. Leslie Ireland, 62
Director

S. Leslie Ireland is the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Intelligence and Analysis. Ms. Ireland joined the Treasury in 2010 after 25 years at the CIA, where she specialized in Iran and the Middle East. Ms. Ireland retired in November 2016 after more than 31 years in the IC. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Ireland served as the daily intelligence briefer to President Obama and from 2005 to 2008, Ms. Ireland served as the principal advisor to the Director of National Intelligence on Iran and was responsible for overseeing the intelligence process on Iran for the entire U.S. Government. Since September 2017, Ms. Ireland has been on the board of directors of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C). Since October 2017, Ms. Ireland has been on the board of directors of The Stimson Center. Ms. Ireland has been a member of Chubb Insurance’s Cyber Security Advisory Board since March 2021. She has also been a member of Cyber Risk Directors Network, Tapestry Networks since December 2019 and also a member of the Board of Advisors of Cyber Florida: The Florida Center for Cybersecurity since November 2020. Ms. Ireland has also been an advisor to the CEO/Founder of Enveil, Inc. since March 2019. She was also the chairperson of the Financial Threats Council, Intelligence and National Security Alliance from May 2017 to February 2017. Ms. Ireland received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Franklin and Marshall College. She received a Master’s Degree in Russian Studies from Georgetown University. Ms. Ireland is the recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest award bestowed by the Secretary of the Treasury. Ms. Ireland is also the recipient of the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (2008 and 2016), and the CIA Intelligence Commendation Medal.

Dawn Meyerriecks, 62
Director

Dawn Meyerriecks is the former Deputy Director of CIA for Science and Technology at the CIA. From 2014 to 2021, Ms. Meyerriecks led a global team of government and contract engineers, scientists, and project managers, providing technical, programmatic, operational, and policy oversight to multi-billion dollar programs focusing on national security objectives. Prior to the CIA, Ms. Meyerriecks served as the Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Acquisition, Technology & Facilities, delivering complex technologies that underpinned national missions. Before that, Ms. Meyerriecks served as the Senior Vice President for Product Technology at AOL, where she was responsible for full lifecycle development and integration of all consumer-facing AOL products and services. Before joining AOL, Ms. Meyerriecks worked for nearly ten years at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), where she was the Chief Technology Officer and Technical Director for the Joint Interoperability and Engineering Organization (JIEO). Ms. Meyerriecks received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration from Carnegie-Mellon University. Ms. Meyerriecks received a Master of Science in Computer Science from Loyola Marymount University. In addition to holding senior leadership positions in Government, Ms. Meyerricks has extensive board and advisory experience, having served on the STRATCOM C2 Advisory Group, the Defense Science Board, the NCTC Advisory Board, the National Academy of Sciences, the Unisys Federal Advisory Board, and the SunFed Advisory Board. Her professional accomplishments have been recognized through numerous awards including: Tech Titans 2019: Washington’s Top Tech Leaders, the Government Computer News Department of Defense Person of the Year, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, InfoWorld CTO of the Year, and she was featured in Fortune magazine as one of the top 100 intellectual leaders in the world.

Laura Price, 60
Director

Laura Price is a former partner at KPMG, where she served for over 25 years specializing in providing financial reporting and risk management services to clients in the federal government. From June 2000 to September 2021, Ms. Price served as an audit and advisory partner in KPMG’s federal consulting practice, where she helped build the firm’s federal advisory presence and led a variety of financial management and operational improvement engagements for numerous federal agencies in all sectors including the U.S. intelligence agencies, DoD components, legislative agencies and a number of federal civilian agencies. Prior to becoming a partner at KPMG, Ms. Price was an audit senior manager and audit manager at KPMG. While at KPMG, Ms. Price authored multiple publications on a litany of topics ranging from human capital risk to managing cultural assets. From 2008 until November 2021, Ms. Price served as treasurer of the board of the DC Youth Orchestra Program, which provides music education to youth from all socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition, Ms. Price is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Association of Government Accountants. Ms. Price received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Michigan Technical University and received a Master of Arts in organization management from George Washington University.