Frank Finelli

Frank Finelli joined The Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm, in December 1998, where he is a Managing Director focusing on leveraged investments in the defense and aerospace sector, as well as dual-use venture technologies. He has led deal teams on several acquisitions and financial restructurings, including one of the first U.S. purchases of a continental European defense company. Previously, Mr. Finelli served as the legislative assistant responsible for defense, intelligence, and foreign affairs for Senator Dan Coats (R-IN), Chairman of the Airland Subcommittee, Senate Armed Services Committee, and member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Mr. Finelli reviewed defense procurement and research and development programs. He also developed legislation, presented speeches and published articles associated with defense transformation and joint experimentation. Before retiring as an Army Lieutenant Colonel, Mr. Finelli served as a Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). He also worked for the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in restructuring the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) process to incorporate cross-cutting Joint Warfighting Capability Assessment (JWCA) teams. In this role, he also coordinated reviews of intelligence and information technology (C4ISR) programs. From 1986 to 1989, he served as an Associate Professor of Economics at the U.S. Military Academy where he taught econometrics and conducted manpower and defense procurement analyses. Mr. Finelli also served in various field artillery assignments in Germany and with the 82d Airborne Division. Mr. Finelli is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He also holds a Master of Sciences with dual concentrations in Finance and Operations Research from the Sloan School of Management, MIT, and a Master of Military Arts in Strategy from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. He is married to the former Katherine Sills Klein of St. Petersburg, FL and has three children: Paul (21), Drew (19) and Laura (16).