In-Q-Tel again in the hunt for a CEO

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ross Stapleton-Gray <amicus () well com>
Date: April 24, 2006 2:37:06 AM EDT
To: Dave <dave () farber net>, "johnmac's living room"  
<johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com>
Subject: In-Q-Tel again in the hunt for a CEO

[I realize they're not exactly comparable, but am amused to note that  
In-Q-Tel's reported annual budget, c. $50M, is 1/8 the size of former  
Exxon CEO Lee Raymond's retirement package... perhaps we apply a  
petroleum windfall profits tax to the "war on terror"...]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/23/ 
AR2006042300701.html

Four Months Later, In-Q-Tel Again Needs New CEO

By Terence O'Hara
Monday, April 24, 2006; Page D01

Amit Yoran resigned over the weekend as chief executive of In-Q-Tel ,  
the venture capital arm of the U.S. spy community, after less than  
four months on the job.

Yoran, a seasoned technology entrepreneur and investor as well as a  
former head of cybersecurity for the Department of Homeland Security,  
had led In-Q-Tel since January. He said yesterday that his reasons  
for leaving were entirely personal, including a desire to spend less  
time on the road and more with his family. He and his wife have three  
young children. In-Q-Tel has investments all over the country, and  
Yoran has traveled extensively. Considered a success inside the  
Central Intelligence Agency, which created it, In-Q-Tel's mandate has  
been expanding to find more technology for more spy agencies.

"It's a very amicable parting," said Yoran, 35. "I will say I'm sorry  
and disappointed as well. But these are personal issues. . . . My  
continued performance as CEO was not going to be possible."

Yoran said he will continue to work with In-Q-Tel as a part-time  
consultant. Before taking the chief executive job four months ago,  
Yoran had invested money in several private technology companies. He  
continues to serve on several company boards.

Lee A. Ault III , chairman of In-Q-Tel's board of trustees, said he  
accepted Yoran's resignation "with regret."

"In-Q-Tel has benefited from Amit's vision and leadership during his  
tenure as CEO," Ault said in a statement. "We appreciate his service  
to In-Q-Tel, and we look forward to continuing In-Q-Tel's unique and  
important mission of delivering important and cutting edge  
technologies to the CIA and the intelligence community."

In-Q-Tel calls itself a venture capital firm, but venture investing  
is a small part of what it does. The CIA created the organization as  
a nonprofit, and its job was to identify technologies being funded  
and developed by the private sector that could have value in  
intelligence-gathering or national security applications. In-Q-Tel  
makes small investments in start-up companies, almost always as a  
junior partner to traditional venture capital funds. Most of In-Q- 
Tel's money goes toward evaluating and funding the technology to make  
sure the CIA or other intelligence agencies can use it.

Yoran had begun to ramp up In-Q-Tel's investment activity to meet its  
growing budget and responsibilities. He said the organization has an  
annual budget of more than $50 million -- up from $30 million to $35  
million several years ago -- and includes as "investors" several  
other intelligence and homeland security agencies in addition to the  
CIA. In its early years, In-Q-Tel was funded almost entirely by the  
CIA. All of In-Q-Tel's contacts with the intelligence community, no  
matter the agency, still run through a special office inside the CIA.

Last month, Yoran hired his old friend, Mark Frantz , a well-known  
local venture capitalist who spent the past five years with the  
Carlyle Venture Partners , as In-Q-Tel's managing general partner.  
Frantz in an interview last week said the organization would be  
hiring more people for its investing team.

"We're not exactly taking out help-wanted ads, but we want to add to  
our venture team," Frantz said. "We've got some very talented folks  
here, but we're here to turn it up a notch. "

Yoran took over from founding chief executive Gilman Louie , who ran  
In-Q-Tel since its 1999 inception. The board is expected to appoint  
an interim chief executive this week and begin a national search for  
Yoran's replacement.

Yoran said 120 technologies partly funded by In-Q-Tel have been  
deployed by the CIA or other agencies. "Unfortunately, we can't talk  
about the specific uses," he said.



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