Advisory Board

The xG Technology Advisory Board is made up of distinguished experts who assist in guiding the company as it deploys its technology, both in its first vertical and future applications. Advisory Board members include individuals who possess significant experience in a variety of industry sectors.

Chris Whiteley, Advisory Board Chairman

Chris Whiteley is Vice President of Business Development for xG Technology as well as Chairman of its Advisory Board. Chris has broad experience in operations, sales, and management across several industries with particular focus on emerging technologies such as wireless broadband, photovoltaic semiconductor manufacturing, and renewable energy.

Chris has an in-depth knowledge of the telecom business models that offer data, voice, video, triple play, and quadruple play services. Chris is a highly sought-after public speaker on various telecom topics and has shared panels with some of the largest telecom providers in the world at industry events such as COMPTEL, ITEXPO/4GWE, IWCE, CTIA, and INTEROP. Chris is fluent in data networking, VoIP, radio spectrum, and wireless technologies including, but not limited to, CDMA, GSM,Wi-Fi, TDMA, HSPDA, WiMax and LTE. Chris has presented several times to the FCC and often is called upon to update industry analysts, financial analysts, reporters, and journalists. His efforts have resulted in xG receiving the Internet Telephony Product of the Year award in 2009 for its xMax mobile VoIP & broadband technology.

Prior to joining xG Technology, Chris was chief operating officer for iDigi Wireless, a wireless service provider that deployed city-wide broadband Wi-Fi networks in Sweden, Iceland, and the United States from 2000 to 2002 before the term “Wi-Fi” was coined.  Chris also served as a senior executive for @Link Networks, a broadband network operator with network deployments throughout the middle third of the United States where he developed a proficiency in data networking, digital subscriber line (DSL), and other last mile technologies.

Chris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Oklahoma in 1989.

Benjamin Dickens, Jr.

Ben Dickens is a named partner in the Washington law firm Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP. The Blooston firm has worked with xG Technology since its inception, and was one of the original law firms in the country specializing in telecommunications. The firm specializes in representing its clients before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the courts and state regulatory commissions, and in international matters, on a variety of telecommunications issues. A unique aspect of the firm is an in-house engineering staff. Ben Dickens’ background includes six years of experience before the Florida Public Service Commission, between 1978 and 1984, where he litigated state regulatory proceedings on telecommunications. He also represented a national association of state regulatory officials, at the federal level, in the proceeding involving the break-up of the Bell system. He has been with the Blooston law firm since 1984 and focuses his practice on matters concerning the regulation of common carriers. Ben is also general counsel to the leading national trade association of burglar and fire alarm companies. Ben speaks Spanish and also is active in Latin American telecommunications matters.

George Schmitt

George Schmitt brings to xG Technology over 40 years of broad telecom experience in wireless and wireline companies. He currently serves on the boards of Calient, Ready Jet Go Airlines, and Teleworx. George is a Managing Director & SBIC Director at TeleSoft Partners, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm specializing in early stage, mid stage, late stage, and growth capital.

His experience includes e.spire Communications, Omnipoint, LHS Group, Objective Systems Integrators, PCS PrimeCo, AirTouch Communications, Mannesmann Mobilfunk (Germany), Pacific Telesis, Pacific Telephone, and AT&T. Most recently, George was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of e.spire Communications, a provider of voice, data and Internet services to markets throughout the U.S.

Previously, George was President and a Director at Omnipoint Communication Services (NASDAQ: OMPT) until VoiceStream's acquisition of Omnipoint Corporation in 2000. Subsequently, Deutsche Telekom acquired Voicestream to form T-Mobile U.S. George was also a Director of two telecom software companies; LHS Group (NASDAQ: LHSG), where he was a Director and member of the Audit Committee prior to its acquisition by Sema in 2000, and Objective Systems Integrators (NASDAQ: OSII), where he was also a Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee and Member of the Compensation Committee, which was acquired by Agilent Technologies in 2000.

Prior to joining Omnipoint, George was President and Chief Executive Officer of PCS PrimeCo (now part of Verizon Wireless) a national PCS partnership formed by AirTouch, Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and U.S. West. He came to PrimeCo from AirTouch, where he was Executive Vice President of International Operations responsible for AirTouch’s operations in its ventures in Germany, France, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Japan, Korea and Thailand. Prior to PCS PrimeCo, George was a member of the board of management of Mannesmann Mobilfunk in Germany and also headed the company’s technical department. His department’s responsibilities included the complete development and operation of the D2 network, the first commercial GSM network in the world. He also served as the Chairman of the GSM Association, an international organization responsible for overseeing the worldwide implementation of GSM wireless technology.

George received an M.S. in Management from Stanford University, where he was a Sloan Fellow, and a B.A. in Political Science from Saint Mary’s College.

John C. Coleman

John C. Coleman brings to xG Technology, Inc. 34 years combined experience in expeditionary operations from both government service and the private sector. In his final years as a U.S. Marine, he was posted as the Chief of Staff, 1st Marines Expeditionary Force for the first two years of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM supervising the largest field headquarters ever assembled in wartime by the Marines. Though an Infantry Officer by trade, he was known and remains widely recognized throughout the Corps as a visionary and leading innovator in the exploitation of digital technology to enhance command, control, and communication within military forces.

Following government service, Mr. Coleman joined Hunter Defense Technologies and served for two and half years as Vice President of Business Development. At Hunter he pioneered an entirely new business sector specializing in the development and delivery of expeditionary command and control infrastructure for civil first responders and the DOD. Validating the efficacy of this effort, he led a team that deployed and operated an Expeditionary Emergency Operations Center (E2OC) in the city of Chicago for Barack Obama’s Presidential acceptance speech on 4 November 2008. Though only on the ground for 18 hours, this highly mobile facility integrated an ad hoc team from 43 different federal, state, and local agencies and provided them fully interoperable voice and data communications along with integrated visual information display.

Most recently, Mr. Coleman established Joint Command and Control Consulting (JC3). JC3 provides consulting services focused on the development, integration, and delivery of mature and emerging technologies in support of expeditionary operations, particularly as related to command, control, and communications. In conjunction with its strategic partners, JC3 provides C4ISR-related systems, service, training, and support to expeditionary responders, both civil and military.

Louis T. Fiore

Prior to joining xG Technology's Advisory Board. Louis T. Fiore's extensive security industry experience has included serving as a Past President of CSAA (1997-1999) and President of L.T. Fiore, Inc. In 1999, he was appointed by President Clinton to serve in the "America Burning" panel. Fiore was the 1992 recipient of the Security Industry Association’s (SIA) George Lippert Memorial Award and the 2005 recipient of the CSAA Stanley C. Lott Award.

Fiore serves as Chairman of Central Station Alarm Association’s (CSAA) Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) and Standards Committee. He is the past chairman of the SIA’s Security Industry Standards Council (SISC) during its formative period.

Fiore is a long time member of the Supervising Station Committee of NFPA 72, a member of NFPA’s Premises Security Committee (NFPA 730 & 731), a member of NFPA’s Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection and Warning Equipment (NFPA 720), a member of the NFPA 72 Technical Correlating Committee and a member of various UL Standards Technical Panels. Fiore holds a Bachelor and Master in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration.

Fiore's career also includes posts at CBS Laboratories, Inc. (1964-1973), Manager of Product Development at ADT Security Systems (1973-1981), President and Co-founder of Cardinal Technologies, Inc. (1981-1983), Vice President and General Manager of the Security Products Division of Repco, Inc. (1983-1987), and Vice President of Engineering and Purchasing for National Guardian Corporation (1987-1996). For the past fourteen years, he has worked in his own consulting practice.

Robert Keefe

Robert (Bob) Keefe is president of TKC International, Inc., a Washington, DC-based government relations and public affairs firm founded in 1978. Over the last thirty years, Keefe brought together unique teams of professionals offering expertise in representation, lobbying, public affairs, and strategic communications.

In his years in Washington, Bob Keefe learned to work the levers of power in government through service on Congressional staffs, political campaigns and as a consultant to key American and foreign organizations. A long-time veteran of Democratic Party politics, Keefe has served as an advisor to presidential candidates, senators and congressmen, governors and mayors.

Keefe has specialized in representing international clients in Washington and American firms abroad. Included among his clients have been the national governments of Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, Canada, Aruba, Albania, Azerbaijan, Japan, Philippines, and Angola. In each instance, he structured successful communications and representation campaigns for the client nation.

In his long relationship with Aruba, he led their effort to establish a preclearance facility for U. S. Customs for travelers on commercial aircraft. The program has been hailed as a major factor in increasing tourism visits to Aruba. Recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security expanded the scope of the program in Aruba to include service to private aircraft, the first such facility to be developed.

In addition to leading his own successful consulting firms for more than thirty years, Keefe has been active in business. He organized and chaired the Global Strategies Group, an international association of public affairs consultancies. He was a founding director of Direct Impact, a leading grass roots lobbying firm. He served as a director of a number of companies, including the High Speed Surface Transportation Corp. of Japan, an experimental, maglev train company.

Keefe writes regularly at www.bobkeefedc.com and for a number of international outlets on American political and public policy trends. He lectures on politics and on trade policy for the United States Information Agency and other forums. He is a regular speaker at leading business forums and corporate meetings.

Kenneth A. Hoffman

Ken Hoffman is vice president of regulatory relations for Florida Power & Light Company, the rate-regulated subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), one of the nation’s leading electricity-related services companies. He is responsible for providing assistance in the management and oversight of FPL’s regulatory activities before state regulators and the State Legislature on energy matters.

Mr. Hoffman joined FPL in 2008 after a successful career in private law practice specializing in the representation of public utilities and telecommunications companies before the Florida Public Service Commission, the Florida Legislature and the Florida courts. Prior to joining FPL, He was a shareholder at Rutledge Ecenia Purnell & Hoffman, PA, in Tallahassee, Florida for 14 years.

A member of the Florida Bar since 1980, Mr. Hoffman has received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has represented the largest, investor-owned regulated utilities, including FPL, before the Florida Public Service Commission and the Florida Legislature for a number of years, serving as lead counsel in a number of large rate cases. Over the course of his legal career, Mr. Hoffman has served as legal and legislative counsel to investor-owned, municipal and rural electric cooperative utilities; wireless, CLEC and Rural ILEC telecommunications companies; and, investor-owned and municipal water and wastewater utilities. Mr. Hoffman also has argued numerous utility-related appeals before the Florida appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of Florida.

Over the years, Mr. Hoffman has amassed an extensive record of community service, including active support for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Children’s Home Society, Children’s Miracle network, Boys Town and the Leon High School Foundation. He has also coached youth league football, baseball and basketball.

Mr. Hoffman holds a bachelor of science degree cum laude in accounting from Florida State University, where he was a member of the Beta Alpha Psi Honorary Accounting Fraternity, and a member of the Gold Key Leadership Society. He also graduated with honors from the Nova University Center of Law. Mr. Hoffman and his wife, Carlana, have four children, Joshua, Jordan, Nicolette and Landon.

Randy Houdek

For the past twenty-four years, Randy Houdek has worked for Venture Communications in Highmore, South Dakota, serving as the General Manager for thirteen years. Venture Communications serves approximately 13,500 access lines spread over 7,000 square miles. Under his leadership, Venture Communications provides dial-up and high-speed Internet access, cable TV services, and is the dominant long distance carrier in its service territory.

On a state level, Mr. Houdek has served on the board of directors of South Dakota Network, South Dakota Telephone Association, Fiber Ring Revenue Pooling Association, and the Local Exchange Carrier Association.  On a national level, he is a member of the NECA (National Exchange Carrier Association) board of directors, Secretary/Treasurer of the NRTC (National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative) board of directors, and serves as a member of the NTCA (National Telecommunications Cooperative Association) Government Affairs Committee.