Mark is a founding partner of Federal Business Group. He brings to over 24 years of military service, including more than five years of Congressional expertise. As a career Army logistician, he spent many years commanding Soldiers in combat and contingency operations worldwide. Take that tactical experience, add a year on a Senator’s staff and four years of Budget Liaison experience and you have the needed expertise to assist clients in product and program development within the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill.
Immediately prior to joining FBG, Mark served with a major Washington Government Relations firm as a consultant for three years representing numerous clients wishing to do business with the Army and with Capitol Hill. Prior to his time as a consultant, he served as the Deputy Chief for the Army’s Congressional Budget Liaison Office supporting the congressional appropriations committees. In this capacity he was responsible for developing and implementing a congressional strategy to support the Army’s annual budget and supplemental budget requests. While working a wide variety of Army programs, Mark gained a wealth of experience in both procurement and research & development funding. His experience includes annual budget formulation, securing additional funding, reprogramming and supplemental funding.
Mark’s congressional experience is rooted on Capitol Hill. He obtained a solid foundation in congressional affairs while serving a Congressional Fellowship as a Military Legislative Assistant and Defense Appropriations Associate for a key Member of Congress. This experience offered him unparalleled experience working with industry and the Federal government.
Mark holds a B.A. degree in International Studies from George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, a M.S. degree in Logistics from The Florida Institute for Technology, Melbourne, Florida and a M.A. degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He is a lifetime member of The Association of the United States Army, The National Defense Industrial Association and The Association of Quartermasters.
Mark Hamilton
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Ed Olivares joined the Federal Business Group after more than seven years as a government affairs counselor for K&L Gates, and nearly three decades of experience working with the Department of Defense and Congress. He focuses on federal relations and business development and represents clients on a range of matters, including defense, energy and homeland security policy; industrial policy; defense procurement and R&D; federal budget and appropriations; and business development.
Mr. Olivares has extensive experience in national security policy analysis, strategy development and planning. He helps clients understand and incorporate public policy into their strategic planning, and works to influence both the legislative and bureaucratic decision cycles that affect their business’s interaction with government customers.
His principal clients include prime contractors and suppliers in the defense industry and emerging technology companies engaged in critical government funded research and development in the areas of defense, renewable energy, clean technology, biotechnology, drug discovery and medical devices.
Mr. Olivares retired from the Unites States Army in 2004 after a 22-year career as an Infantry and Special Forces Officer, serving in command and other leadership positions around the world, including leading a Special Forces A Team during the first Gulf War in 1991and a Civil Affairs detachment on United Nations peace-keeping duty during the Balkans crisis in 1994.
His military career culminated in his assignment as Deputy Director of the US Special Operations Command Legislative Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. where he was principally responsible for communications between SOCOM and the defense committees of the House and Senate regarding authorities and funding for weapons, communications and aviation procurement, research and development, and operations and maintenance for Army special operations forces. The liaison office, composed of Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs and Air Force Special Operations officers, was responsible for all communications between USSOCOM and the United States Congress. As Deputy Director, Ed played a key role in presenting and justifying SOCOM’s $6.5 billion annual operating budget to Congress. His portfolio included the Research & Development and Procurement accounts covering weapons, aviation and communications for Army Special Operations, Operations & Maintenance issues and Congressional travel, as well as administrative responsibilities for the legislative affairs office.
Mr. Olivares holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master’s degree in International Relations from Troy University. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
Ed Olivares
Joe Spata is a founding partner of Federal Business Group and provides extensive technical, operational, and government relations expertise across a broad range of Defense programs. He provides outstanding support to our clients focusing on Navy shipbuilding and sustainment, industrial base funding, and technology development.
A former Navy Surface Warfare Officer, Joe served at sea in destroyers where he specialized in gas turbine engineering, Tomahawk strike operations and anti-submarine warfare. After a successful destroyer command, he was promoted to the rank of Captain, and assigned to the Navy Budget Office in the Pentagon. He served as the Deputy Director of the Navy Appropriations Liaison Office (FMBE), responsible for all communications between the Department of the Navy and House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Joe later served as the Deputy Director of the Investment Division, where he was responsible for the oversight of a staff of fifteen budget analysts in the formulation, justification, and execution of a $40 billion investment budget. In his last assignment in the Navy, he was the Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management & Comptroller). In this role he was instrumental in coordinating the development and support of the annual budget requests of the Navy and Marine Corps.
Joe holds a Master of Arts degree in National Security Studies from the Naval War College, a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University. He is a lifetime member of the Surface Navy Association, and member of the Shipbuilder’s Council of America, the Marine Machinery Association and the Association of Naval Engineers.
Joe Spata
Tom Veltri is a founding partner with the Federal Business Group. He focuses his efforts across a broad spectrum of aviation, space, and intelligence programs. He brings with him forty years of experience in aviation operations and Congressional relations.
Tom served a distinguished career in the United States Air Force, retiring as a Lt Col. He served in a variety of positions at the Pentagon including Congressional Liaison to the Defense Appropriations Committees and Deputy Director of the Space and Reconnaissance Requirements Branch.
Tom’s operational experience includes three years with the Joint Staff in the National Military Command Center and in the Joint Reconnaissance Center. He also has the distinction of being one of a small group of aviators to fly the SR-71 Blackbird, the exceptionally high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance airplane.
Tom earned a B.S. in Industrial Management from Carnegie-Mellon University, Pennsylvania, an M.B.A. in Aviation Sciences from Embry-Riddle University, Florida, and an M.S. in Administrative Management from Georgia College.
Tom Veltri