Leadership
Gary D. Vest, AICP
Chairman and President
Mr. Gary D. Vest, AICP, is an organization and company chairman, executive, advisor, analyst, representative and negotiator. He is a former United States Government (USG) senior executive, leader and manager with over 40 years of U.S. and international success in government, industry and consulting. Mr. Vest is Chairman and President of Transnational Strategic Solutions, Inc. (TS2Corp), a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) of U.S. and International experts, specialists and custom designed and managed teams from business, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments and teaming partner companies.
Since his 2001 USG retirement, Mr. Vest gained substantial private sector experience serving as senior advisor, analyst, consultant, CEO, president, and chairman and member of boards of directors or advisory boards for public and private for-profit and non-profit companies and organizations including start-up technology-based proprietorships, product manufactures and distributors, environmental solutions corporations, Federally certified/recognized small businesses, and a $1 billion plus publicly held service corporation. He has extensive strategic experience in developing medium and large organization and business policies, programs and projects; recruiting and establishing implementation teams and professional resources; and overseeing implementation of cost effective performance. He leverages return on investment (ROI) in terms of organization/business opportunities and competitive advantage through advocacy, representation and public/customer awareness. He has worked with a number of organizations in developing and implementing their growth, investor and exit strategies.
His private sector consulting work has focused on strategic planning; opportunity identification; business development; organization, program and project development; capability and performance enhancement; strategic alliance identification and facilitation; team formulation and implementation; company acquisition and teaming evaluation; outsourcing and staffing; public-private partnerships for commercial use of Federal real property; interagency/multi-organization cooperation; and Federal proposals and contract management. He has participated in the full range of business development (BD) and marketing activities including development of strategies, organization and management of marketing and sales networks; preparation of briefings and collateral material; and proposal strategy, preparation, review and presentation.
Mr. Vest knows how to work governmental processes in the U. S., with other governments and international organizations. He worked at the TOP SECRET/SCI (TS/SCI) level for many years on a wide range of Defense and National Security matters. He maintains a TOP SECRET clearance. He was awarded the U.S. Presidential Distinguished Rank twice (highest award for a career member of the United States Government Senior Executive Service).
Mr. Vest was in the USG Senior Executive Service (SES) for 18 years (Principal Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense [eight years] and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force [ten years]), where he oversaw all Environmental, Safety and Occupational (ESOH) matters worldwide and provided executive, management, advisory, analytical and representational services for regulated agencies in the areas of strategic planning; community planning, policy analysis and development; large organization policy, program and project performance oversight; advocacy and representation; interagency/intergovernmental coordination and cooperation; multinational and bilateral international cooperation; force protection and security; and legislative, state government, local government, public and NGO interaction. In these two senior military organization appointments he also oversaw (in the same career senior executive capacities) USAF or DOD installations and facilities matters (planning, programming, budgeting, engineering, design, construction, real estate management and operation) throughout the world for a total of nearly two years.
As a member of the US Government Senior Executive Service (SES) for almost 20 years, Mr. Vest had extensive experience and perfected his skills in oversight; personnel and financial resource planning and management; contract management oversight; policy and oversight of technology and information management programs; communication (including Congressional representation and testimony), advocacy and representation; organization development and management; leadership; and strategic planning. He directly supervised staffs of up to 150 people and oversaw the planning, programming, budgeting and execution of multiple annual budgets, some in excess of $5 billion. He has worked with officials at the state and local level in nearly all the states and territories and has physically been in all states and territories. He has extensive experience with public and private organizations in the US, has worked cooperatively with major segments of the U.S. private sector both domestically and internationally and has interacted with NGOs for over 30 years.
He has substantial experience working research and development and technology issues including executive oversight of the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP). He provided the executive oversight and guidance for the development and operation of the very successful Defense Environmental Network and Information Exchange (DENIX), an international Internet information and management system which was used to communicate internally within the DOD and with the militaries of over 100 nations. He also oversaw the Defense Environmental Security Corporate Information Management (DESCIM) program which was part of the overall DOD Corporate Information Management (CIM) program.
He was involved in the development of numerous classified weapons systems, including support infrastructure and facilities. Mr. Vest also interacted extensively with the intelligence community a range of classified activities, on threats to DOD facilities and infrastructure, and the use of intelligence assets for unclassified purposes. He was the Senior Civilian Participant on the two-year long Air Force Scientific Advisory Board Summer Study on Air Base Performance and led, for the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, a highly classified follow-up effort to focus on the Soviet and Warsaw pact threat to and attack scenarios against the USAF bases in the Central Region of NATO. This was done with multiple agencies of the intelligence community and the several intelligence organizations within the National Laboratory system. Among the results was his personal briefing of every Air Force four star general and several Army four stars.
For ten years, Mr. Vest was a senior participant in all USAF weapons system programs because all were subject to the full range of environmental, safety and health laws, regulations and standards. He oversaw the analyses and was the sign-off authority. He was involved in all Special Access Programs (SAP), some of which had a very small number of people with access. He monitored activities at classified locations and was intimately involved in the environmental and occupational health aspects of USAF low observable programs (F-117A and B-2) Mr. Vest worked with intelligence agencies on joint facility matters. He also had involvement in the recently declassified “Constant Peg” program.
Mr. Vest has been a real estate consultant, real estate salesman and Instructor of real estate at the university level. Mr. Vest held 30 major USG and/or international chairmanships and leadership appointments and chairmanships or co-chairmanships and/or co-sponsorships for 33 major conferences and seminars. He has dealt personally with senior officials from over 100 nations and physically represented the U.S. Government, headed DoD or U.S. delegations or conducted private sector business in 58 countries. Mr. Vest actively participated in international affairs for over 20 years with organizations such the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations, the European Union, the European Environmental Agency, and the Organization for Stability and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). He personally initiated, negotiated and oversaw bilateral relations on military environmental security matters with over 25 nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, Central America and South America.
Mr. Vest has published numerous articles and studies, presented hundreds of invited and keynote speeches and briefings throughout the world, lectured at universities, and, over a 20 year period, organized and conducted workshops and conferences worldwide. He has chaired, co-chaired and/or co-sponsored international conferences and workshops attended by hundreds from over 125 countries. Additionally he has chaired a number of multiyear, multinational studies and has been the chairman of a numerous ongoing boards, councils and committees.
Mr. Vest holds degrees in Urban Planning (MUP, University of Washington), and Political Science (Public Administration) (BA, University of Idaho). He is also a graduate of the US Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville, VA, the U. S. Air Force Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program (2yr full- time program of courses and orientations throughout the world), Wash, DC and the Federal Acquisitions Management Program, Fairmont State College, West Virginia. Among his many awards are the U. S. Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal (highest DOD career civilian service award), the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal, the Secretary of the Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Medal and the Secretary of the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Medal.