Silverback7's Corporate Leadership

Steven R. Lahr - Chief Executive Officer

Steven R. Lahr is the founder and chief executive officer for Silverback7 (SB7). He has served as the CEO of SB7 since March 2005.

Prior to founding SB7, Mr. Lahr served in the U.S. Army for 22 years. As a Special Forces officer, he was responsible for planning, resourcing and leading sensitive, complex, nationally directed operations for the Department of Defense and other government agencies. He served in eight distinct combat or hostile fire zones during his military career; often deploying to those areas more than once. He supervised high-risk operations with the Special Operations Command and the Joint Inter-Agency community including work with the CIA, DoS, FBI, U.S. Marshals and U.S. Customs. He commanded Special Operations forces engaged in a variety of combat, special operations and intelligence related missions during the Global War on Terrorism.

As an active member of the community, Mr. Lahr is a proud volunteer for local programs. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Region’s Government Contractor Council (Prince William County Chamber of Commerce), the Virginia Tech Athletic Boosters, and is currently serving as the Vice Chairman of a local Veteran’s organization (Vigilant Torch Association). His benevolent activities include religious charities, and support to several veteran’s non-profit organizations such as the Marine Corps Association Foundation, Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Fallen Warriors Foundation and the Warriors on the Water tournament program.

Mr. Lahr holds an M.A. in international studies from Georgetown University and a B.S. in business management from the University of Maryland.

Duane Piper - Chief Administrative and Financial Officer

Duane Piper has over 18 years of business operations experience in the federal market. Prior to joining SB7 he served as the Vice President of Contracts and Ethics for General Dynamics’ $940 million Army Solutions Division and before that was an Assistant Vice President and Senior Business and Program Director for a $380 million unit at SAIC. He brings with him a depth of knowledge and experience in federal government contracting and procurement, program management, operational and financial management, and new business acquisition.

Mr. Piper holds a Master of Business Administration degree, he has completed executive education at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and he maintains certifications in project management, contract management and purchasing.

Peter L. Coughlin - Vice President for Operations

Peter Coughlin served in the U.S. Army for 21 years in a variety of command and staff positions with the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and Field Office Southwest Asia; culminating in an assignment as the Director of Security, White House Military Office. Mr. Coughlin also has over four years of experience in the corporate sector. Prior to joining Silverback 7, he served as a Vice President and Division Manager for Science Applications International Corporation where he was responsible for leading and managing multiple programs supporting the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, and the National Security Agency.

Mr. Coughlin holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama and has completed various Program Management courses through the George Washington University School of Business.

Steven Wade - Chief Operations Officer

Steven E. Wade is the founder and chief operations officer for Silverback7 (SB7).

Mr. Wade has over 22 years of counterterrorism experience within Special Operations. Having served for 12 years within Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and 10 years within Joint Special Operations, he has held positions of team sergeant, company level Sergeant Major and battalion level Operations Sergeant Major.

Mr. Wade developed, managed, deployed, and led multiple post 9/11 Special Compartmented programs for DoD’s Global War on Terrorism and as such he is an acknowledged expert in Counter Terrorism, Counter Intelligence, Force Protection, Special Reconnaissance, Direct Action, Unconventional Warfare, Foreign Internal Defense, and Personnel Recovery. He has remarkable operational experience with deployments to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bosnia, Croatia, Haiti, Ecuador, Cambodia, Burma, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Korea, and Taiwan.

Dave Kite - Vice President, Business Development

David Kite has over 25 years of experience in government defense operations as a U.S. Military Special Operations, Intelligence, and Communications Officer and in business operations in support of the Federal Government. Mr. Kite has senior-level program management, operational, and strategic experience with the Department of Defense and Federal Agencies managing intelligence and communications support operations. He has over eight years of experience in military special operations and joint inter-agency activities with multiple deployments in operational and command positions throughout the Middle East region. Mr. Kite has led Department of Defense strategic forecasting, policy, and resourcing efforts developing transformational capabilities for emerging military requirements. Within the Federal Government support industry he has served as a Director and Senior Program Manager for both Intelligence and Information Technology organizations providing support to U.S. defense, intelligence and federal government agencies.

Mr. Kite holds a Master of Science in Human Resources Management and a Bachelors degree in Business Management.