Leadership
Board of Directors

Kevin W. Massengill, Chairman

Sean B. Ward, CEO
Sean B. Ward is the founder and CEO of White Strix Holding Company, a Colorado-based holding company targeting IT/Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure businesses for acquisition and growth.
Ward is also the Founder of Oscar Mike Solutions, Inc. a non-profit borne out of the US withdrawal of Afghanistan in 2021 focusing on supporting the needs of individuals and families in conflict zones seeking a new life.
He is known as a highly effective cybersecurity and technology executive bringing executive, operational and technical experience in cyber and physical security. Ward facilitated clients in managing sensitive and nuanced security risks both from a cybersecurity and security perspective through strategic planning, to tactical execution, by leveraging partnerships. For over ten years have provided detailed planning and operational management in security and intelligence within the defense, commercial and telecommunications industries to include Cyber Threat Intelligence Management, Insider Threat Program Management, Account Management, Physical Security Program Management, Project Management, Program Development and Strategic Business Development.
Qualifications as a Technical Security Advisor include Certified industry recognition as a Certified Information Systems Security Practitioner, Certified Ethical Hacker, Certified Expert Penetration Tester and a Masters Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.
He is currently an advisor to several small companies and has advised companies up to approaching 1000 employees and several hundred million dollars a year in revenue. Ward has previously served on the board of industry leading ISC2 as the Director of Corporate Partnerships and as an Director of Operations.

Brian Wieber, Financial Director
Brian is an experienced non-executive outside Board Director, Qualified Financial Expert, Chief Audit Executive (CAE), and Senior Advisor with over 30 years of commercial experience leading financial, operational and information technology risk management. He served in these capacities for some of the largest multi-national and U.S. companies including KKR, Lazard, Morgan Stanley, D&T, and Grant Thornton, encompassing all ownership structures, from public, private, private equity, and non-profits, as well as start-ups. In addition to directing the financial wellbeing of White Strix, Brian currently serves as a Senior Advisor for Grant Thornton supporting their Private Equity Advisory and Execution Practices, and as an Operating Partner for Cadiz Capital. Brian has a great ability to advise, coach and shape strategic agendas, with a real passion for driving change and an imaginative approach to creating transformative outcomes. He is recognized for his skills in building effective relations, supporting investors and Boards of Directors, and rallying teams to achieve results materially beyond what would ever be expected. He places an ethos of fairness and integrity of all corporate, colleague and client-facing activity to enhance performance, engender mutual collaboration, and enable solutions that meet a need. Lastly, Brian is known for being adept at collaborating with boards of directors and executive teams to evaluate internal controls over operational, technological, financial, regulatory compliance and corporate governance and creating a culture of willingness to change.
Prior to his current roles at White Strix, Grant Thornton and Cadiz Capital, Brian was the CAE for KKR, accountable to the Audit Committee and the Firm’s Board of Directors. This position worked closely with all levels of executive senior management, providing strategic direction, leadership and management of the Internal Audit, Enterprise Risk and SOX functions. Such role was responsible for developing, coaching, and leading teams, and developing best practices and nurturing a culture of commitment, with the highest order of integrity.
At KKR, Brian resided on various firm leadership committees: Operating Risk Committee, Global Valuation Committee, Portfolio Management Committee, Information Security Committee, Innovation Committee, and Business Approval Group Committees (Private Equity and Credit), and an active member of domestic and international subsidiary boards (AIFM [Dublin], UK [PE, Credit, Capital Markets], MENA, Asia). Brian has a great ability to advise, coach and shape strategic agendas, and to rally teams to achieve results materially beyond what would ever be expected. He has a real passion for driving change and an imaginative approach to creating transformative outcomes.
Prior to KKR, Brian held executive senior leadership positions at Lazard Freres & Co. and Morgan Stanley, with selected impactful achievements that included global SOX IPO readiness; top rated regulatory audit ratings; best in class audit functions that achieved firm-wide distinction; and a differentiated bench for which front office would tap as part of their hiring programs. Brian began his career at D&T where he secured his CPA license.
Brian holds an MBA in Finance from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance with Honors distinction from New York University. He received his certifications as a CISA and CFE, and is Series 7, 63 and 27 registered. Brian frequently speaks in public forums, serves as a part-time adjunct professor for Fordham University, and provides strategic advice to business leaders about governance and private equity.
Brian lives in Summit, New Jersey with his wife of 30 years, and has two sons. He is an active participant and avid fan of sports, loves to travel and is committed to health and fitness.

Eduardo Vidal, Legal Director
Ed Vidal has over 40 years of experience practicing corporate law and advising on business transactions. He practiced for over 30 years in major New York and Chicago law firms, working on a wide range of corporate matters, including securities transactions, loan financings, private placements, mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity investments, corporate governance and financial restructurings, as well as supervising litigation and bankruptcy proceedings.
During the last 10 years he has served from Houston and Miami as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of a startup online media group as well as serving as a member of the board of directors providing legal advice to several startups seeking to execute roll-up strategies in such industries as electrical contracting, plumbing & HVAC, property management and senior living facilities.
He received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Chicago and is a member of the New York and Illinois bars. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the Election Integrity committee of the Republican Party in Miami, Florida.

Brian Raymond, Defense Advisor
Brian Raymond currently serves as the Executive Vice President Client Risk Management at Global Guardian, an industry-leading international security company.
He has quickly established himself as a leader in this fast-moving industry and has been featured in multiple leading security-focused events. A recognized expert in incident response, Mr. Raymond has been able to successfully transfer his wide range of security knowledge to the C-suite while working with security managers in 45 separate fortune 500 companies.
His experience as an active, decorated leader in the Navy SEALS and later leading highly complex global operations as a Senior Operations Officer in the CIA, qualifies him as an expert in counterterrorism. His distinguished service was recognized with the Career Intelligence Medal upon retirement. Mr. Raymond is a graduate of Norwich University, the oldest private militatry college in the United States and was named in 2021 with the prestigious “Distinguished Alumni Award” for his decades of achievement and service. He also currently serves on the advisory board for Xelevate, a leading UAS testing and training facility in Leesburg, Virginia.

Gene Soltero, Energy Advisor
Gene Soltero is president and Chief Executive Officer of Cimarron Capital, Inc. He most recently served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paradigm Exploration Company, a “friends and family” north Texas oil and gas investment vehicle that sold off the last of its petroleum properties in 2020.
For the past forty years, Gene has been the president, and/or Chief Executive Officer of a series of notable public and private oil and gas exploration and production companies. During that time, he was the principal officer responsible for drilling hundreds of exploratory prospects resulting in more than 50 new oil and gas field discoveries in the United States. He also actively managed more than 20 separate acquisitions of producing oil and gas properties (aggregating more than $250M of financing transactions, private placements, public offerings, syndicated bank loans, and institutional convertible debt transactions) in oil and gas, banking and healthcare.
Gene holds a MS degree in Industrial Management from M.I.T., where he was awarded a Research Fellowship in Petroleum Economics, and holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Gene is a registered professional engineer and holds securities licenses series 22, 63, 79 and 82.