Incubation firm, Red Cell Partners, has named George C Barnes, the former Deputy Director of the US National Security Agency (NSA), as the President of its newly formed Cyber Practice. 

Barnes will oversee Red Cell’s cyber strategy across incubation and investment verticals.  

He will recruit and partner with founders to create solutions for known or emergent market gaps with a focus on counter-cyber threat operations, cyber defense capabilities and other emergent needs in the cybersecurity ecosystem. 

Guidance for Cyber Practice 

“Throughout his illustrious tenure at the NSA, George worked tirelessly to bring to bear policies and strategies that served to defend the US and its allies against foreign threats,” said Grant Vertsandig, Red Cell’s Founder, CEO and Chairman.  

“He now brings that lifetime of invaluable experience to Red Cell to help us deliver urgently needed solutions to address some of the most critical problems facing our nation today. 

“With George at the helm, the Red Cell Cyber Practice will drive innovation to strengthen cybersecurity and resiliency for government and commercial clients in a highly contested, network-centric world.  

“We are honored to have him part of the Red Cell family.” 

Prior to joining Red Cell, Barnes also served as the Senior Civilian Leader of the NSA.  

As Deputy Director, Barnes was the NSA’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing strategy, policy and operations and supporting the US defense and intelligence enterprise in national security strategy execution.  

Over his 36-year career at the NSA, Barnes held numerous technical and organizational leadership roles spanning intelligence collection operations, intelligence target analysis, foreign liaison and industrial partnership management, workforce support and global enterprise governance.  

Barnes holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland. 

“Excited to lead” 

“Cybersecurity is critical to national security, which is why it must be baked into everything we do,” Barnes said.  

“Cyber-crimes like ransomware and intellectual property theft are such pervasive threats today that cybersecurity has been identified at the highest levels of the US government as a national and economic security imperative.  

“At Red Cell, we are taking this imperative to heart.  

“I am excited to lead the new Red Cell Cyber Practice and partner with founders who are driving meaningful change to preserve the integrity of networks and advance national security.”