Ike Sallee
Co-Founder, Diffingo
Ike’s career has taken him through some of the most demanding leadership environments in public service and business. He has served in trusted roles at the White House, Department of State, and Pentagon, including as Military Aide to the Vice President of the United States and Military Assistant to multiple Secretaries of the Army. Those roles required discretion, judgment, clear communication, and the ability to help senior leaders make decisions when the stakes were high. He also commanded and led large organizations in the U.S. Army, including teams of hundreds to thousands of people, with responsibility for strategy, operations, people, budgets, risk, and results. After retiring from the Army, Ike brought that same practical leadership approach into the private sector, serving in senior operations and business roles across Amazon, agriculture, and defense technology. At Diffingo, Ike helps business leaders apply artificial intelligence in ways that are useful, trusted, and tied to real outcomes. His work sits at the intersection of AI adoption, executive decision-making, organizational alignment, process improvement, and change management. Ike’s approach is straightforward and relational: listen first, understand the people and the problem, build trust, then create practical systems that help teams move forward. He believes AI should not replace human judgment. It should help leaders ask better questions, see patterns sooner, communicate more clearly, and make better decisions with greater confidence.
Kevin Boates
Co-Founder, Diffingo
Kevin Boates is a co-founder of Diffingo, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, and an experienced executive leader who helps organizations turn complex challenges into clear priorities, aligned teams, and practical action. He began his military career as an enlisted paratrooper and deployed in support of combat operations before graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. His career spanned infantry, aviation, operational planning, crisis response, organizational transformation, and strategic policy. At the Pentagon, Kevin served as a senior policy advisor within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, developing policy recommendations and data-driven tools to support senior-level decision-making. He concluded his military career as a brigade commander, leading a large, geographically distributed organization and directing complex, multi-agency operations. At Diffingo, Kevin helps executive teams apply artificial intelligence to improve decision-making, strengthen organizational alignment, and produce measurable results. His approach is practical and people-centered: establish a clear purpose, focus on what can be controlled, empower the team, and build systems that turn strategy into action.
Lance Van Zandt
Co-Founder, Diffingo
Lance Van Zandt served as an Army Aviation officer and combat veteran throughout a career that included commanding aviation organizations and multiple assignments at the Pentagon shaping Army strategy, modernization, and senior leader decision-making. Following military service, he transitioned into the defense industry, where he helped strengthen partnerships between government and industry while advancing strategic growth initiatives. Lance brings extensive experience aligning strategy with execution, developing leaders, improving organizational performance, and leading complex transformation efforts.
