Executive Advisors

Admiral Charles Larson (USN, Ret.)

Admiral Larson, ViaGlobal’s Chairman of the Board, is a distinguished public servant, leader, and corporate strategist. Admiral Larson served for 40 years on active duty, including over 20 years as a flag officer. He was Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, commanding 350,000 personnel and responsible for the readiness of all U.S. forces encompassing nearly half the globe. As senior military commander in the Pacific, he traveled to 25 different countries in the Asia-Pacific region and helped orchestrate the U.S. political-military strategy in the Pacific, and was responsible to the Secretary of Defense for collective defense arrangements and coordination with 44 countries in the Pacific Rim. He engaged regularly with the Joint Staff, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the State Department, the White House, our embassies abroad, and the Congress. He also served as White House Fellow, where he worked directly for a cabinet officer as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior. He served as Naval Aide to the President, spending two-and-one-half years as a member of the White House staff with almost daily contact with the President. During his years as a flag officer, he worked in the Pentagon with the Joint Staff and Office of the Secretary of Defense, and commanded the U.S. Second Fleet. Admiral Larson served as Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy on two separate occasions.

Since retiring from the Navy, Larson served on corporate boards in the oil exploration and production industry, the electric industry, and the international construction and service industry. He also served as a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control, on the Board of Directors of the White House Fellows Foundation, and as Vice Chairman of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents. Today, among other affiliations and memberships, Admiral Larson serves on the Board of Directors for Northrop Grumman Corporation, Esterline Technologies Corporation, Edge Technologies Incorporated, U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, Atlantic Council, as well as an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Anne Arundel Health System.

Command Experience:

• Retired Four Star Admiral; Former Geographic Combatant Commander of the United States Pacific Command
• 19 years in command positions with 14 years in command at the highest levels of the military

School House:

• Served two terms as the U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent
• Naval Aide to U.S. President and White House Fellow as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Interior
• Pentagon Flag Officer, Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense

Combat Experience:

• Served on five nuclear submarines, including command for three years, conducting operations during the Cold war

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Brigadier General David Grange (USA, Ret.)

During his military career, General Grange served as a Ranger, Green Beret, Aviator, Infantryman, and Delta Force member. Assignments took him to Vietnam, Korea, Grenada, Russia, Africa, former Warsaw Pact countries, Central and South America, and the Middle East, to include the First Gulf War. He was Badged from completion of S.A.S. selection and training. General Grange also served as Deputy Commanding Officer, U.S. Army Special Operations Command; Commander, 75th Ranger Regiment; Deputy Commander, SFOD-D, among others. While serving in the Pentagon as the Deputy and Director of Army Current Operations, Readiness and Mobilization, he was responsible for coordinating military support within the U.S. in response to natural disasters and domestic preparedness against acts of terrorism. Today, Grange sits on the Board of Directors of the Society of the First Infantry Division, Pharmaceutical Product Development, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Corporate Council, and the Eshelman Foundation. General Grange is chief executive officer of Pharmaceutical Development, Inc., located in Wilmington, NC. Grange served for 10 years as COO and CEO of McCormick Foundation based in Chicago after 30 years of service in the U.S. Army, with his final command as the Commanding General of the First Infantry Division, known as the “Big Red One.” In that position, he served in Germany, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Kosovo.

Command Experience:

• Infantry command at all levels from platoon to division level
• Commander, 75th Ranger Regiment
• Commander 1st Infantry Division
• TF Eagle in Bosnia

School House:

• Consultant and Writer as Irregular Warfare, IO, UW, and COIN Expert

Service Experience:

• Bosnia, Kosovo, Beirut, DMZ Korea, Germany, Russia, Latin America
• Infantryman, Ranger, Special Forces, Aviator, Delta Force, and British S.A.S.

Combat Experience:

• Vietnam, Grenada, and the Middle East to include the First Gulf War

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Captain Steve Fitzgerald (USN, Ret.)

Captain Fitzgerald retired from the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams after a distinguished 24-year career. He participated in nearly all conflicts and major combat operations since Vietnam. He is a recognized leading figure in the war on terrorism, having spent three tours inside combat zones in Central Asia. His major command tours include serving as Chief of Staff of the Joint Special Operations Command, Deputy Commander of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Commanding Officer SEAL Team ONE, and Squadron Commander, Operations Officer and Training Officer at SEAL Team SIX.

Captain Fitzgerald led numerous joint special operations reconnaissance and direct action missions around the globe.  He commanded raids during Operation Just Cause in Panama, a classified hostage rescue Incident in Central America, and a rescue and recovery operation of sensitive US backed personnel who’s lives were threatened during a coups in Haiti.  After hostilities ended in the former Yugoslavia, he helped lay the framework for capture operations against Persons Indicted for War Crimes (PIFWCs) in Bosnia.  He also directed the training of Sri Lankan SEAL-equivalents that contributed toward the ultimate downfall of the Tamil Tigers terrorist organization.   An expert in joint service operations, he coordinated the planning efforts for our nation’s top units to conduct first strike missions in Desert Storm and three other classified operations approved by the Secretary of Defense.   

As a result of his actions during his distinguished career, Captain Fitzgerald was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, the Legion of Merit Medal, four Meritorious Service Medals, and two combat action ribbons. Today, Captain Fitzgerald teaches corporations how rapid planning, decision making, and execution techniques can be employed to enhance efficiency and profitability.

Command Experience:

• Commander, SEAL Team ONE
• Deputy Commander, Naval Special Warfare Development Group  
• Tactical Commander of a 110-person National Emergency Response Team

School House:

• SEAL School Lead Instructor, Master Training Specialist, Basic Underwater Demolition School (BUDS)

Service Experience:

• Supervised 25 missions as operations chief of an elite 680-man Joint Task Force in Iraq
• Served as Chief of Staff, Joint Special Operations Command

Combat Experience:

• Panama, El Salvador, Haiti, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq
• Led the capture of 11 of 55 Iraqi regime leaders
• Supervised reconnaissance and direct action missions in Afghanistan and VIP security for numerous heads of state

Mr. Frank Gren

Frank M. Gren, Board Member and Founder of ViaGlobal Group, LLC., is a trusted advisor to the highest levels of federal and state governments, investment banks, and the trial bar regarding issues ranging from esoteric financial transactions to national security issues.

Prior to founding ViaGlobal Group, ViaFinance and ViaProductions, he was the Managing Director of Galway Partners playing critical roles in complex billion dollar transactions. Mr. Gren began his finance career with Morgan Stanley in New York.

Mr. Gren has previously served in the US Navy as an aviator, Head of Nominations and Appointments for the Naval Academy, and Congress/Senate Liaison.

Mr. Gren is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has served on the board or committees of numerous corporate, professional and civic organizations ranging from the U.S. Naval Institute to the Harvard Fogg Museum.

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Major General Gary Harrell (USA, Ret.)

Gary Harrell, Director General, retired as a Major General and the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations / Commander, Allied Joint Force Command-Brunssum Deployable Joint Task Force, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Response Force, Brunssum, The Netherlands. He has served the U.S. Army for 34 years. During his distinguished career, General Harrell has served as Commander, Special Operations Command Central; Director, U.S. Central Command; Commander, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD); Deputy Commander, SFOD; Squadron Commander special operations officer and troop commander, SFOD; as well as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division. General Harrell has distinguished himself in the military’s most elite and clandestine combat units.

Harrell helped rescue U.S. hostage Kurt Muse from a Panamanian jail in 1989, and hunted down Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. He searched for mobile Iraqi Scud missile launchers in the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, was a commander during the 1993 battle of Mogadishu immortalized in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down,” and led perhaps the largest special operations force in U.S. history into combat in Iraq. During his career he participated in several major operations, to include Operation Anaconda, Operation Urgent Fury, Operation Just Cause, Operations Desert Shield and Storm, Operation Continue Hope, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. General Harrell has served his nation with honor in the Middle East as well as around the world. His decorations include the Army Commendation Medal (Oak Leaf Clusters); Air Medal; Meritorious Service Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster); Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster); Bronze Star Medal (w/ “V” Device); Defense Superior Service Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster); and the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.

Command Experience:

• Special Forces Detachment Commander, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment -Delta (Delta Force) Troop and Squadron Commander
• Commander, Special Operations Command Central
• Deputy Chief of Staff Operations/Commander, Allied Joint Force Command

Service Experience:

• Director, Joint Security Directorate, United States Central Command

Combat Experience:

• Grenada, Panama, Desert Shield/Storm, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan

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