Our Team

 Brigadier General (Retired) Phil Coker served with the US Army in the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East as a Cavalry Officer and Analyst for 32 years.  After retirement, he joined the defense industry as a Director, ultimately managing four production facilities in the US and UK, building robots and command and control systems for the Department of Defense and Law Enforcement customers.  He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, holds a Master’s Degree in Systems Management from USC and is currently pursuing another Master’s from the University of Texas in Dallas.  He was one of the founding members of the Heartspur Group,,and serves as the VP of Operations.  He has extensive experience in government pursuits, new product development, leadership training, holds a certificate in executive and leadership coaching, and has been giving keynote addresses for over 20 years.

 Colonel (Retired) Jim Heverin served with the US Army as an Artillery Officer and product developer for almost 30 years, including service in the US and Europe as well as the Middle East.  He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and holds a Master of Science from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.  Upon retirement from the Army he was hired to manage and lead hardware production programs for a major defense contractor, culminating in his assignment as CEO of a robotics company.  He has extensive experience leading organizations and turning around failing operations as well as a complete understanding of the DoD acquisition system.  He also brings a strong background in production operations as well as full insight into complex systems integration.   

 Meryl Kovac has over 40 years’ experience  in all aspects of government contracts management.  She is a graduate of the University of Redlands and during her career with various defense industry companies has held positions of great responsibility including Senior Contracts Manager, Division Contracts Manager and Deputy Program Manager.  She has extensive experience with FAR and DFAR requirements, risk management, performance compliance, managing multiple contract types, government negotiation and has routinely directed contracting for individual programs worth more than $700M.  In one two-year period she personally negotiated contracts worth more than $1B.   She has led and developed Contracts personnel throughout her career and is a master in managing difficult customer relationships.