Our Team
Kurt Scherer
Managing Partner
Kurt serves as Managing Partner of C5A and as a Managing Partner of C5 Capital. In these roles, Kurt serves to identify world class leaders, business, and technologies, and helps to scale and advance their businesses to help awesome teams become the best versions of themselves.
Previously, Kurt led Booz Allen Hamilton’s national Innovation Center in Washington, DC where he focused on identifying promising technologies, talent, and ideas from across a national ecosystem of entrepreneurs and then incubating those ideas.
Kurt served for 10 years as a Cobra Attack Helicopter Pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a graduate of both the U.S. Naval Academy as well as Harvard Business School.
Zach Beecher
Chief Operating Officer
Zach runs the day-to-day operations, dealflow, business development, and strategic partnerships for the Accelerator, as well as a Civil Affairs Officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. Previously, Zach was Director of C5 Philanthropy where he developed veterans training, counter corruption, and counter-trafficking programs designed to use tech as a tool for good. Zach is also one of three representatives of the United States of America for the Global Governance Future Fellows program at the Global Public Policy Institute of the Bosch Foundation. Zach is an expert at assessing the value of innovative tech, developing the team to deploy it, standardizing procedures, and then scaling innovation both within the government and private sector.
Prior to C5, Zach served as a United States Army officer in the 82nd Airborne Division with a deployment to Iraq. He graduated from Princeton University with his A.B. and holds Masters degrees from both the University of Cambridge and King’s College London.
Daniel Dammann
Director, C5A Advisory
Daniel Dammann is the Director of C5 Accelerate Advisory. In this role he manages the implementation of all client and business development deliverables. C5’s advisory services empower private sector innovation to mitigate national and global security challenges and are dedicated to develop and implement strategies that enable clients to navigate complex markets. Prior to joining C5A2, Daniel led ITC Secure’s Strategic Advisory Practice assisting clients pursue government contracts and creating tailored federal strategies aimed to raise client’s profiles in the national security arena.
Daniel brings with him professional experience from four continents having worked in consultant, research, and volunteer capacities in the U.S., Ghana, Germany, South Africa and Argentina over the last decade. Daniel holds an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service and an M.A. in International Relations from the University of St Andrews in the UK
Jackson Labovitz
Analyst
Jackson Labovitz is an Analyst at C5 Accelerate, supporting the team with proposal writing and specialized research and analysis. Jackson joined C5 as a graduate of The George Washington University, where he focused on international affairs, economics, and history.
Over the course of his academic career, he worked with startups and had internships in mergers & acquisitions and financial technology. Prior to joining C5, he worked with Invest Sou Sou, where he conducted market research and analysis, and supported business development.
Hannah Altman
Fellow
Hannah Altman is a Graduate Fellow at C5 Accelerate Advisory, where she assists in data collection, research, and strategy. Hannah is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) working towards a Master of Arts degree in International Economics and American Foreign Policy. She comes to C5 with three years of experience in qualitative and quantitative research.
Hannah completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and Homeland Security at Tulane University, where she wrote an honor’s paper regarding legislation and counterterrorism. She speaks both Hebrew and Arabic proficiently.
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Allison McDaniel
Communications Fellow
Allison joins C5 as a Communications Fellow, focusing on content creation for the company’s social media. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Digital Marketing from the University of Toledo in Ohio. Her experience includes website management, social media marketing, customer relationship management, and event planning. Prior to joining C5, Allison spent 7 years in the travel and tourism industry working for Xanterra Parks and Resorts, Walt Disney World, Marriott, and The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium.