About Defense Venture Group

Business Units   |  Board of Directors   |  Business Unit Managers

Defense Venture Group (DVG) designs and manufactures innovative force protection systems and products primarily for government applications through three business units: ArmorLine, Indigen Armor and Dynamic Runflats. DVG is a portfolio company of J.F. Lehman & Company, a leading middle-market private equity investment firm focused solely on the defense, aerospace and marine sectors.

The company was founded in 2004 by military veterans with extensive Special Operations and high-risk protection backgrounds. The founders, JFL and DVG are deeply committed to the development of cutting-edge force protection technologies, systems and products to help ensure the safety of government personnel.

Business Units

ArmorLine is a leading manufacturer of transparent Spinel ceramic – a revolutionary ceramic material whose combination of high-hardness, lightweight, and broadband optical transmission properties make it ideal for transparent armor and sensor applications. Spinel has significant advantages relative to other transparency alternatives. For example, Spinel requires >50% less weight and thickness for a given level of ballistic protection, offers better chemical and physical erosion resistance and produces superior optical transmission relative to current glass-based alternatives. DVG is currently growing its Spinel manufacturing capabilities to produce large size plates at high volumes and expects to be on-line in 2011. Low volume Spinel production capabilities currently exist and samples are available for purchase.

Indigen Armor is a leading designer and manufacturer of purpose-built armored vehicles designed specifically to blend into local operating environments. Indigen Armor’s vehicles are designed to meet each customer's specific performance and appearance requirements and are engineered as a total system to provide a no compromise protective solution. Our purpose-built vehicles are designed and engineered from the inside out to provide end users with better protection, durability and performance than retrofitted alternatives.

Dynamic Runflats has developed a revolutionary ballistic-resistant, three-piece polymeric run-flat tire system designed specifically for government vehicles. This system has been designed to outperform all currently fielded run-flat tire systems and for rapid replacement under adverse field conditions. Further, the systems exceed U.S. Army TACOM endurance, on-road and mission profile requirements and have been tested extensively at the Nevada Automotive Test Center, TARDEC Test Lab and the Yuma Military Proving Grounds.

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Board of Directors

Tig H. Krekel - Chairman of the Board of DVG and Vice Chairman of J.F. Lehman & Company. Prior to joining JFL, Mr. Krekel served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Hughes Space and Communications, President of Boeing Satellite Systems and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Aerospace Equipment Systems Group of Allied Signal (now Honeywell).  Mr. Krekel served five years as a Naval Officer holding various assignments including nuclear engineering duty on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, and as an aide in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon.  He graduated from the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School as a licensed Nuclear Engineer and earned a M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

C. Alexander Harman - Partner, J.F. Lehman & company. Prior to joining JFL, Mr. Harman was a member of the Global Energy Group at J.P. Morgan & Company where he focused on mergers and acquisitions as well as debt and equity financings.  He graduated cum laude from Williams College where he received a B.A. degree in History with a concentration in medical studies. 

General John P. Abizaid, U.S. Army (Ret) - retired from the United States Army after thirty-four years, during which he rose from infantry platoon leader to become the youngest Four Star General in the Army and the longest-serving commander of the United States Central Command.

General Ronald R. Fogleman, U.S. Air Force (Ret) - retired from the United States Air Force in 1997 following a thirty-four year career. A decorated fighter pilot and combat veteran, he later served as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff becoming the first United States Air Force Academy graduate to advance to Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

Forrest W. Carroll - Co-founder and Vice President of DVG, Mr. Carroll's previous positions include Director of RDT&E for Indigen Armor, and Vice President of ArmorLine Corporation.  He served as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the 82nd Airborne Division, and is a former President of the Scotti School of Defensive Driving.  Mr. Carroll has provided specialized security training and protective sevices to multi-national corporations and in support of U.S. national security interests worldwide.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from U MASS-Boston.

Ronald A. Griffin - Co-founder of DVG, Mr. Griffin served nine years in the military including five years in the U.S. Army Special Forces. Following his military service, Mr. Griffin provided close combat protection in support of U.S. national security interests.

Christopher N. Cathers - Mr. Cathers is a former Green Beret who following military service provided close combat protection in support of U.S. National security interests.

In Memoriam

John M. Zinn - Co-founder, Former President and CEO of DVG. Mr. Zinn was a former U.S. Navy SEAL who following military service led combat operations in support of U.S. national security interests. His vision and leadership were major contributing factors to the success of DVG. He will be missed.  May we strive to continue his dream.

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Senior Managers

John D. Choate – Chief Executive Officer of DVG.  Mr. Choate was formerly the President and Chief Executive Officer of Procinctu Group, Inc., a company that he founded which is focused on the development and implementation of advanced security training programs and services for a broad array of government and commercial customers.  Prior to Procinctu Group, he served as a program manager at SAIC for the development of Naval Special Warfare advanced training programs and as a strategic consultant at Titan Systems Corporation conducting security assessments for the Department of Homeland Security.  Mr. Choate spent 12 years on active and reserve duty in the U.S. Navy as a SEAL Officer serving in a variety of leadership positions with multiple deployments to the Middle East and Afghanistan.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in History from the U.S. Naval Academy and Master of Arts Degrees in National Security Studies and Intelligence Methodology from California State University.

Lawrence Shaffer - General Manager of ArmorLine Corporation.  Previously, Mr. Shaffer had been the Global Director for the Transparent Armor and Specialty Products business for PPG Industries where he had more than 20 years of experience, holding positions in engineering, manufacturing, operations planning, program management, marketing, sales, and business management in PPG’s automotive glass, aerospace transparencies, and transparent armor businesses. He has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from University of Pennsylvania and holds a Master of Science in Industrial Administration from Carnegie Mellon University.

Michael D. Marquart - General Manager of the Dynamic Runflats Business Unit.  Mr. Marquart brings over 30 years of private sector automotive experience with a broad background in business management, focusing on sales, marketing and manufacturing operations.  Most recently he served as President and COO of a Custom Vehicle Manufacturer, Redex, Inc., providing contributions on several award winning projects. Prior experience includes serving as President of a leading National Driveline Remanufacturer and as National Sales Manager for a worldwide aftermarket parts distributor.  Mr. Marquart holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota.

Joseph J. Nick – Director of Manufacturing Engineering for DVG.  Prior to joining DVG, Mr. Nick was the Lean Implementation Leader for the Airfoils Division of Precision Cast Parts in Mentor Ohio.  His primary role was planning, executing and following up on Kaizen events as well as providing training and overall guidance to site Leadership.  Mr. Nick has also served in the following capacities:     i) Ceramic Protection Corporation, as Engineering Manager overseeing the development and product launch of ballistic door panels for domestic police vehicles as well as ceramic body armor production,     ii) Honeywell Aerospace, as a Lean Expert applying Lean Manufacturing concepts to Engineering and Design processes and iii) Honeywell Ceramic Components, Engineering / Manufacturing Manager overseeing development and production activities for the manufacturing of advance ceramics components.  Mr. Nick is a certified 6 Sigma Black Belt and has his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Ceramic Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Michael A. D'Ettore - General Manager of Indigen Armor, Incorporated.  Prior to joining Indigen Armor, Mr. D'Ettore worked as a Territory Sales Manager for a specialized pathology laboratory services company and for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  He served for 10 years on the active duty in the Marine Corps as an infantry officer serving in a variety of leadership positions with multiple deployments to Europe and the Middle East.  Mr. D'Ettore holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University and a Master of Business Administration from the George Washington University.

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