Bio

Chip joined SolarWinds, Inc. in September 2021 and has established the first Government Affairs function within the company. In that role, he's collaborated with US federal government customers, as well as leaders in Congress and the Administration. He is a proven leader with experience leading diverse organizations ranging in size from 16 to 22,000 people. A former military officer, he has mentored soldiers, sergeants, officers, and civilians in the DoD to achieve results in the most high-stress environments, with multiple combat deployments across the globe. Prior to joining SolarWinds, Chip completed a fellowship with SAIC as a member of the Government Affairs (GA) team. While with SAIC, Chip provided GA support to the Army, Navy, and Defense Logistics accounts, as well as led a small team to form a Strategic Advisory Board for the company. For his final job in the Army, Chip ran the team on the U.S. Army staff in the Pentagon that liaises with the U.S. Congress to craft the annual National Defense Authorization Act (the “defense bill”) to obtain the authorities and funding to support all Army policy and modernization programs, obtaining over $178 billion in 2020. Additionally, he advised senior defense officials at the Secretarial level on Congressional engagement and funding strategies. Previously, Chip served as the Chief of Staff of all U.S. forces in Afghanistan, leading a staff of over 780 uniformed and civilian professionals in managing the $3.4 billion operating budget, as well as all human resources, IT, and logistics functions for over 13,000 U.S. service members. Additionally, he served as the Chief of Staff and COO of a U.S. Army Division of over 22,000 soldiers. Prior to his time in Afghanistan, he led the joint military team in the Pentagon that matched military resources with capability requirements for all U.S. military operations across the globe. In this capacity, he led a cross-functional task force that assisted in the development of the National Defense Strategy, while developing the most significant change to military resource allocation in over 10 years. After just two years, Congress appropriated over $580 million to support this change. Chip holds a B.S. from Virginia Tech, an MBA from Duke University, and a Masters of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He proudly serves on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Alumni, Inc.