David Rikkers has more than two decades of experience in the aerospace and defense industries. Prior to founding Expedited Climb Capital, he started and led an IP monetization team that sourced and executed deals valued over $1.5 billion in aerospace and defense. David began his career as an Air Force officer, leading radar and other electronic technology development efforts.
David is a leader in the defense industry. He has served as chair of the Intellectual Property (IP) Committee of the Aerospace Industries Association and on the U.S. Navy Data Rights Tiger Team established by the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. He served as policy lead for government procurement IP issues at a major defense contractor. He serves on the Board of Directors of the ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization of the Licensing Executives Society. He is a speaker at events hosted by organizations including the National Defense Industrial Association and Aerospace Industries Association. He authored the chapter on Working with Government in the book, Intellectual Property Operations and Implementation in the 21st Century Corporation, J. Wiley & Sons (2011).
He also served as the General Counsel for Advanced Technology and an engineering function of 15,000 engineers, with customers and suppliers in 50+ countries and $16 billion in annual revenue. Prior to this, while at a law firm, David counseled clients on corporate transactions, acquisitions, IP strategies and litigation. Early in his career, he served as an intern for Judge Newman at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and a law clerk in the office of the General Counsel of the Air Force, Acquisition.
David received a B.S., ME, from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
Andrew is a visionary business and technology leader with a demonstrated 35-year history of successful results in both the Aerospace & Defense and Commercial High Technology/Startup industries. Andrew concluded a more than 30-year career with Raytheon Technologies in the role of Strategy Executive for the Raytheon Missiles & Defense (RMD) business unit. As Strategy Executive, Andrew led the development of RMD’s long term vision and all strategy efforts for the business’ largest mission area. In this role, Andrew emphasized the integration of innovation, business transformation, and disruption into a strategic plan for long-term success. Andrew’s past roles include profit/loss leader for Raytheon’s ground-based tactical radar business, Director for multiple franchise business capture opportunities, and Director of Technology for a start-up company.
Andrew is skilled in vision/strategy development, technology planning, profit/loss leadership, capital allocation, M&A strategy & due diligence, Global business development, and Small Business partnerships. Andrew has had success working with a wide range of customers in various industries and markets. This experience includes all US Domestic Department of Defense Services, Defense organizations and companies in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and commercial entities such as ESPN and the National Football League.
Andrew received a B.S., Electrical Engineering, from Lehigh University and a M.S., Aerospace Engineering, from The University of Michigan.
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Develop, market, and sell your innovations with financial support from Expedited Climb Capital. We can bring your vision to reality!