Where the Money Meets the Mission

Michael Galdo is a Counsel with the Special Matters and Government Investigations practice group at King & Spalding LLP in Austin, Texas. He focuses on complex investigations, especially those with cyber, transnational, or national security implications. Mr. Galdo joined King & Spalding last year after serving for over 15 years as a federal prosecutor, including as the Department of Justice’s Director of COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. Mr. Galdo was also the Assistant United States Attorney in Charge of Cybercrime for the Western District of Texas, leading investigations into malware distributors, cryptocurrency exchanges, business email compromise offenses, money launderers, and other cybercrime offenses. Mr. Galdo spent nearly a decade as a national security prosecutor, investigating and charging export control violations for the unlawful export of sensitive technology and terrorism offenses.

Linda Lourie is currently a Principal with WestExec Advisors, a Principal with the Washington Circle Advisory Group, LLC, and a Senior Consultant to the Aerospace Corporation, among other affiliations, including board seats. She specializes in providing strategic advice to national interest-focused Fortune 500 companies, dual-use startups, hedge funds, and VCs to help them navigate Washington risks, including with respect to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Outbound Investment regimes, China/Russia, sanctions, IP, export controls, trusted capital, and government procurement. Linda’s last role in the U.S. government was as the Assistant Director for Research and Technology Security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). In this role, she served as the OSTP Assistant Secretary-equivalent member for CFIUS, advised on export controls and other foreign investments in emerging and foundational technology, sanctions, IP, and technology transfer matters. She also spearheaded Pillar 2 working groups of the Australian-UK-U.S. security pact (AUKUS). Prior to this position, Linda was the Associate General Counsel (Acquisitions and Logistics) in the U.S. Department of Defense. In that role, she provided legal guidance on a range of issues related to CFIUS, Defense Production Act, AI, 5G, and international acquisition matters. Linda previously served as the General Counsel of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a DoD office that accelerates the procurement of commercial technology to DoD, where she advised a team of military and civilian personnel on acquisition, IP, export controls, international, and ethics matters in Silicon Valley, Boston, and Austin, and she has served as DoD Associate General Counsel (International Affairs), responsible for international IP issues and legal aspects of European and NATO Affairs, Rule of Law, and defense trade; as the first Director for Rule of Law at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; at the White House on the Presidential Task Force on Export Control Reform; at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq; the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland; private law firms; and early in her career was a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Linda received her A.B. cum laude in Fine Arts from Harvard University, her M.A. from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts in Medieval Islamic Art History, and her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an ex-officio member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and has received numerous awards for her government service, including the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.

Jung Eun Park is an investment professional and cross-border venture strategist, connecting global startups with Korea’s advanced manufacturing networks and market opportunities. As part of Bridge Investment, she has worked across deep tech, content, and biotech, guiding early-stage companies through funding, market entry, and strategic growth. With experience spanning venture capital, strategy consulting, and corporate governance, Jung Eun brings a global perspective shaped by education at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and professional work in both Korea and the United States. She is passionate about building bridges between ecosystems, fostering partnerships that accelerate innovation on both sides of the Pacific.

Drawing on more than twenty years of experience in government and in private legal practice, Eric represents clients in the defense industrial base, the maritime sector, and critical minerals and metals industries on complex transactions with a focus on unlocking federal credit programs and other forms of federal financial support. Prior to joining Baker Botts, Eric was a Managing Director at the Department of Defense's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) and Chief Operating Officer of OSC's Credit Program Office. OSC's Credit Program Office directs the Pentagon's first technology-and industry-focused lending program for both private and publicly-traded companies. As COO for the Credit Program Office, he developed procedures for project development, underwriting, credit risk management, portfolio management, and operations. Eric led the design of OSC's direct loan and loan guarantee application process, and, in conjunction with Department of Defense intelligence and counterintelligence professionals, designed and implemented OSC's national security risk screening policy. Prior to the establishment of the Credit Program Office, Eric worked in private practice with a focus on M&A, capital markets, and emerging companies and venture capital (ECVC). Eric began his career as a national security professional as an Army officer leading soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq and Afghanistan. Later, he served as a policy and intelligence professional at the National Counterterrorism Center and as a senior civilian for the Joint Special Operations Command. Eric is a frequent media commentator and panelist on issues related to national security and has authored a book on risk management that is undergoing pre-publication review at the Pentagon. He is an avid collector of tabletop wargames, which he has employed in various professional development courses for the Department of Defense. Eric is an Army spouse and his wife is currently commanding a battalion in the 82nd Airborne Division.