ELT
Rana Alsaadi | Executive Chairwoman
Mrs. Al Saadi is the Co-founder and Executive Chairwoman for PACEM Solutions International LLC. Mrs. Al Saadi is a refugee from Iraq and now a naturalized American citizen. Prior to co-founding PACEM Solutions International, Mrs. Al Saadi held multiple Senior Executive positions and served with the U.S. Department of State as an Advisor and the U.S. Department of Defense as a Translator/Analyst in Iraq. Al Saadi earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Baghdad University and her Executive Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University.
Andrew Knaggs | Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Knaggs currently serves as Chief Executive Officer for PACEM Solutions International. Just prior to joining PACEM in 2020, Mr. Knaggs was a Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in the 7th District of Virginia. From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Knaggs served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism in the Trump Administration, where he led the Department of Defense's global policies and authorities for special operations, counterterrorism, irregular warfare, and information operations. Earlier in his career, Mr. Knaggs founded a Washington, D.C.-based law firm where he advised small business clients on strategic growth and corporate legal matters. He is also a decorated combat veteran with multiple deployments in direct support of the Global War on Terror, who received the Bronze Star Medal for combat actions while serving as a U.S. Army Special Forces officer in command of a team of Green Berets. Mr. Knaggs earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Juris Doctor degree from William & Mary Law School. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
Joseph Schmitz | Chief Legal Officer
Joseph E. Schmitz currently serves as the PACEM Solutions International Chief Legal Officer. Previously, Mr. Schmitz served as the fifth Senate-confirmed Inspector General of the Department of Defense from April 2002 to September 2005. As such, he was agency head of the most expansive Inspector General organization in the world, with statutory policy oversight responsibility for roughly 60,000 auditors, investigators, inspectors, law enforcement officers, and oversight professionals throughout the Department of Defense. Mr. Schmitz graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978, and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Stanford University in 1986.