Ron Houle

President at Pivot Step Consultants, LLC

Ron Houle is Founder and President of Pivot Step Consultants, LLC.  

Prior to founding his consulting practice in 2016, Ron served for twelve years as Vice President of Washington Operations for HDT Global, which had acquired DHS Systems/DRASH in February, 2015.  Ron’s focus was on opportunities and Programs of Record in the defense, homeland security, first responder and community hospitals sectors.  He has led company partnerships with federal, state and local emergency response agencies, including strategies supporting military support to civilian agencies. 

Since joining HDT Global in 2003, Ron was actively involved with the company’s growth in both the defense and non-defense applications of core products. He was involved in building relationships and programs with the Army National Guard, Philips Healthcare, Northrop Grumman, and General Dynamics, to name a few.  In his last three years, Ron was leading the company’s initiative to develop and deploy technologies that will result in a highly mobile tactical power grid.   

Prior to joining HDT Global, Ron served as the Director for Legislative Affairs and later as the Chief of Staff at the National Headquarters of the American Red Cross.  He was serving at the Red Cross for the response and humanitarian efforts to the victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York, Washington, DC and in Pennsylvania.  He directed more than a dozen appearances by the Red Cross CEO before House and Senate oversight committees.

Prior to the American Red Cross, Ron served on the staff of the Secretary of the Army as the Director of the Programs Division, Office of Legislative Liaison, the Pentagon.  In this capacity, Ron was responsible for bringing the Army budget from the Pentagon to Congress for approval and enactment.  This experience helped him become an expert in defense economics and the legislative process.  

Other experience includes an assignment as Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, United States Military Academy; Congressional Fellow in the office Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN); various command positions in the U.S. Army and service in Desert Storm.  In addition to two assignments in Washington, DC, he served nearly six years in Germany, and assignments in Kentucky, Georgia, and Kansas.

Ron is a retired Army Colonel with over 24 years of Active Duty service, and a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY.  He holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Mathematics, and a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering, both from Stanford University.  Additionally, he holds a Master of Science Degree in National Security Studies from the National Defense University and completed a curriculum in Foreign Policy Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, the Johns Hopkins University.  He also studied National Security Policy in one-year executive seminar with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He is a past Chairman of the Corporate Advisory Panel of the National Guard Association, and Past Chairman of the Board for the US Industrial Fabrics Institute, and the founder and a past Chairman of the Berry Amendment Textile Coalition.

Due to his extensive background in the technical textiles industry, Ron has recently been selected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI), the nation’s largest trade association for fibers and fabrics.