WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The CIA's venture capital arm, In-Q-Tel, Inc., has named a new chief executive, the fourth this year, amid reports of conflict between management and the board.
Christopher Darby, a former Intel Corp. executive, was named at the company's chief executive officer in a statement last week, the latest in a series of management changes there.
Darby will start Sept. 18, the statement said, replacing Scott Yancey. Yancey was promoted from chief financial officer earlier this year to replace Amit Yoran, who quit as CEO in April, just four months after taking over from Gilman Louie, who had run the firm since its inception in 1999.
Darby was vice-president and general manager of Intel's Middleware Products Division, a post he had held since August 2005, when the giant acquired a software firm he ran called Sarvega Inc.
With offices in Arlington, Va., and Menlo Park, Calif., In-Q-Tel puts CIA cash into early-stage companies, just like a private sector venture capital concern.
"Our mission is to identify and invest in companies developing cutting-edge technologies that serve United States national security interests," says the company on its Web site. To date, the company says its partnerships with 90 firms have "delivered more than 130 technology solutions" to U.S. intelligence agencies.
Technology and venture capital observers say the model has been successful enough to inspire imitations. The U.S. Army has already formed a private equity investment arm, and NASA and the Energy Department are planning to follow suit.
