Dr. Mark Esper, former U.S. Secretary of Defense has joined Epirus Board of Directors. Epirus, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-backed, high growth technology company with an eye towards providing innovative solutions to complex problems. Dr. Esper served as the 27th United States Secretary of Defense from 2019 to 2020 and the 23rd Secretary of the Army from 2017 to 2019. His insight and leadership in advancing military technology will be an asset to the work at Epirus.
Epirus Welcomes Esper
“History informs us that those who are first to harness once-in-a-generation technologies have a decisive advantage well into the future. At a time when new, low-cost technologies can empower our adversaries and make anyone a target, America must stay ahead of its rivals as we modernize and protect our national security interests for years to come. Epirus stands at the vanguard of those accelerating military and homeland security applications of game-changing technology to disarm drones used to launch lethal attacks against our service members and civilians anytime, anywhere. Addressing emerging threats and challenges was always a priority of mine at the Pentagon and will continue to be going forward. Epirus has proven itself able to rapidly innovate and adapt in ways that can make it a critical partner to the U.S. government and our allies,” Dr. Esper said.
“Recent drone attacks targeting U.S. forces and concerns here at home underscore the urgent need for the deployment of effective Counter-UAS technology in the field of operations. At Epirus, we have made it our mission to meet this challenging problem by developing a solid-state, software-defined, high-powered microwave to disable potentially harmful electronics. We cannot wait for the loss of human life to become the catalyst for change when technology exists that can stop threats today. Adding a visionary leader like Mark to the Board solidifies our ability to bring to market the technology we need to help protect the U.S. warfighter and develop other new applications of our technology for broad commercial use,” said Grant Verstandig, Epirus Executive Chairman and Co-Founder.
Who’s Who on Epirus Board of Directors
The company’s Board of Directors is led by its Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Grant Verstandig, Chairman of Rally Health as well as Founder of Red Cell Partners and an active entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and philanthropist; John Tenet, a Founding Partner at Red Cell Partners and previously a partner at 8VC; Alex Moore, a partner at 8VC as well as a founding employee and Director of Operations at Palantir and Co-Founder of NodePrime; Geoff Lewis, Founder and Managing Partner of Bedrock; Leigh Madden, Epirus Chief Executive Officer; and Bo Marr, Epirus Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder.
Dr. Esper joins other advisory board of powerhouse leaders including: Michael Ovitz, Founder, CKE and Co-Founder, Creative Artists Agency and former President, Walt Disney Company; Sam Palmisano, Chairman, Center for Global Enterprise and former CEO/Chairman, IBM; Jerry Yang, Founding Partner, AME Cloud Ventures and Co-Founder and former CEO, Yahoo! Inc.; Richard Mattera, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, UnitedHealth Group; and Jeffrey Grant, Board Member, The Aerospace Corporation and former Vice President and General Manager of Space Systems Division, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.
