About
Neo

Vince Aragona is the Founder, President, and CEO of Neo Network Development Inc. (Neo Networks), a company he founded in 2013. A true visionary, innovator, and serial entrepreneur, Mr. Aragona is a 40-year veteran of the wireless telecommunications industry. He is widely regarded as one of North America's leading subject-matter experts in the commercial application of shared fiber-optic network architectures, small-cell technology, and deployment solutions.

Mr. Aragona was the original architect of the Neutral Host business model and the chief architect of Neo Networks' proprietary Open Access, Neighborhood Networks, and Cost-Free Connectivity for Kids programs. He has been responsible for the design, engineering, implementation, and operation of some of the most technologically advanced networks deployed throughout the US.

Before founding Neo Networks, his executive leadership experience includes serving as North American Vice President of Network Planning and Development and National VP of Network Engineering, Implementation, and Operations at ExteNet Systems Inc. He also served as the National Director of Network Implementation and Operations at NextG Networks and held leadership positions at Metricom and Paging Network Inc. ("PageNet"). Vince began his career in 1982 in the U.S. Air Force.

Brad Higgins is a venture partner at SOSV, an international venture capital firm that is the lead investor in NEO. Brad joined SOSV in 2009 and has invested in a wide range of new technologies, from JUMP e-bikes, which were sold to Uber, to a cutting-edge nanofiber technology company, Verdex Technologies, whose intellectual property was recently sold to PepsiCo. Prior to SOSV, he has had a long and successful career both on Wall Street and in the US Government, leading the structuring and financing of numerous complex infrastructure projects in the US and overseas.

From February 2006 to January 2009, Brad served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Resource Management and Chief Financial Officer at the US Department of State, both positions requiring confirmation by the US Senate. In that capacity, he was responsible for the State Department's $34 billion budget and its strategic and performance planning efforts.

In 2008, he was elected Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Organization of American States (OAS). Prior to his responsibilities in Washington, DC, he served two tours in Iraq: first as the CFO to the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2004, and then as the Director of Planning to the US Mission's reconstruction management office in Baghdad. He returned to Iraq in 2005 as a senior advisor to the U.S. Ambassador, setting up and serving as the first director of the Strategic Performance and Assessment Office for the U.S. Mission.

Prior to his government service, Brad spent over twenty years on Wall Street, as a senior investment banker at Goldman Sachs and CS First Boston, serving as the lead banker for many of the largest municipal infrastructure projects in the U. S. He started his career as a corporate associate at the international law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Brad also served as chairman of JumpStart International, an economic development organization with which he worked in Iraq and subsequently operated in the Republic of Georgia. Brad holds an AB and JD from Columbia University. He is a resident of New Canaan, CT.

Anita Taff-Rice is the founder of iCommLaw and has over 25 years of experience in the technology and telecommunications industries, with a background in both law and journalism. Her experience includes a range of domestic and international technology, regulatory, public policy, network deployment, and compliance issues. Ms. Taff-Rice's transactional experience includes corporate formation, regulatory certification, business counseling, media strategies, and contract negotiation and drafting. Her litigation experience encompasses proceedings in state and federal courts, arbitrations, and investigative proceedings before state and federal regulatory commissions.

Ms. Taff-Rice's clients include competitive technology and telecommunications providers in the wireline, wireless, and broadband sectors. Ms. Taff-Rice graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, D.C. and holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Terrence (Terry) Kelly is the founder and president of TKK Consulting, LLC, which provides consulting and research services to firms seeking deep insights into the Department of War and Department of Homeland Security, the military services, and federal civilian agencies for policy advocacy, research, and acquisition.

He is a member of the board of directors for NEO Networks Development, Inc. and an adjunct Principal Mathematician at RAND, where he previously served as a Vice President and stood up and directed the Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center from 2016-2022, as the director of the Army Strategy and Resources Program, and as a senior researcher since 2002.

From February 2006 through April 2007, he was the SES-level Director of the Joint Strategic Planning and Assessment Office in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, where he led the Embassy efforts to create two joint campaign plans, and in 2004 as the Director of Militia Transition and Reintegration for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq (SES-level), where he created the policy to demobilize Iraqi militias and negotiated agreements with seven of them. Kelly is a retired Army officer and was a White House Fellow in 1997-98.

Terry excels at identifying the core elements of complex problems and leading multi-disciplinary teams to both address them and help clients achieve their goals. He particularly enjoys developing subordinates and helping them take on increasing responsibility and grow as leaders.

Since 2001, Terry and his wife Gloria have lived in the greater Pittsburgh area. They have three daughters and 6 grandchildren. They enjoy the outdoors and contributing to their church and community.

Kelly holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics, all but the dissertation for a second Ph.D. in Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems, and an M.S. in Computer and Systems Engineering from RPI, a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and is a 1982 West Point graduate. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Department of the Army Outstanding Civil Service Medal, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.