Red Cell Partners, an incubation firm that builds and invests in technology-led companies that are bringing revolutionary advancements to market in national security, cyber, and healthcare, today announced that Veronica B. Daigle, the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, has joined the firm as Partner and National Security Practice President.

In her role, Daigle will oversee Red Cell’s national security strategy across incubation and investment verticals. She will recruit and partner with entrepreneurs to create technology-enabled solutions for known or emergent market gaps with a focus on maximizing America’s defense capabilities.

“Secretary Mark Esper, the Chairman of Red Cell’s National Security Practice, and I could not be more thrilled to welcome Veronica who brings an impressive background spanning decades as a respected leader in both the public and private sectors. Veronica has an intimate understanding of the challenges confronting our nation today as the innovation gap continues to widen, near-peer competitors grow more emboldened, and we face an increasingly vulnerable global supply chain,” said Grant Verstandig, Red Cell’s Founder, CEO, and Chairman. “Veronica has the mission-drive and experience to not only identify gaps in the current landscape, but to support founders in Red Cell’s National Security Practice in delivering the innovative tools and solutions that the Department of Defense needs to help our nation maintain its competitive advantage.”

Prior to joining Red Cell, Daigle held numerous roles within the defense industry, most recently serving as an Executive Director within the Legislative Affairs unit of The Boeing Company’s Government Operations, leading advocacy for cybersecurity, sustainment, and readiness policies. In 2019, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness within the Department of Defense (DoD), where she oversaw military preparedness policies and was the principal staff advisor on readiness to the Secretary of Defense and the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Daigle joined the federal government in 2008 as a Presidential Management Fellow at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and later served as a senior executive within DoD’s Office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. Before her career with the federal government, Daigle worked in the financial sector, developing industry-wide benchmarks to measure the risk-adjusted performance of securities lending activities. Daigle, who sits on the Board of Directors of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security, is a recipient of the DoD Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service. She holds a bachelor’s in philosophy from Fordham University and a master’s in political science/international affairs from George Mason University.

“Coming from a family with strong ties to the military, I’ve always had a deep interest in national security,” Daigle said. “During my tenure with the federal government and in the private sector, I learned that to address America’s most critical needs, we must leverage the entire ecosystem of the defense industrial base – especially the small, agile businesses like the ones we’re creating at Red Cell – to partner with DoD to drive innovation. I’m excited to be working with Red Cell to build and scale companies that will bring to bear the sorely needed technologies required to help our nation’s defenders carry out their jobs effectively and efficiently.”

About Red Cell

Red Cell Partners is an incubation firm building and investing in rapidly scalable technology-led companies that are bringing revolutionary advancements to market in three distinct practice areas: healthcare, cyber, and national security. United by a shared sense of duty and deep belief in the power of innovation, Red Cell is developing powerful tools and solutions to address our Nation’s most pressing problems. Visit us at redcellpartners.com and follow us on social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram).

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