Team

CEO & Founder

Sean McIntosh

Sean McIntosh is a former Navy SEAL and the founder of Foothold Labs.  He has been a serial entrepreneur in Kansas City since leaving the active duty Navy in 2013. He spent 14 years as both an enlisted Navy SEAL and SEAL officer.  Sean completed five combat deployments and was hand selected for several high-visibility assignments during his career.

Sean has been recognized as one of the technology industry leaders in Kansas City by the Techweek KC Technology Conference, the Kansas City Business Journal, and the Top Gun KC 40 Under 40 publication. He is frequently asked to speak as a leading veteran small business owner and emerging defense technology expert.

Sean attended the University of Kansas from 2005-2007 as part of the elite Seaman-To-Admiral enlisted commissioning program and graduated with a BS in Political Science and Minor in History. While in college, he also learned Modern Standard Arabic and taught gun safety classes through his first small business. Sean and his wife Jessica currently live in Lawrence, KS and have two children.

CTO

Dr. Joshua Sestak

Dr. Joshua Sestak is currently the CTO for Foothold Labs and is a seasoned biotech startup entrepreneur with experience across therapeutics, devices, and diagnostics.  Previous experience includes, Chief Operating Officer of UI Pharmaceuticals, a full service CDMO within the University of Iowa, and President and CEO of Orion BioScience, a biotech start-up developing novel autoimmune therapeutics focused on re-establishing tolerance in early-stage patients with autoimmune diseases such as Type-1 Diabetes and Neuromyelitis Optica. Dr. Sestak has also participated on multiple SBIR grant review committees focused on commercialization of therapeutic research drugs, devices, and diagnostics. Dr. Sestak earned his  Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Kansas and holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Gonzaga University.

Senior Chemistry Advisor

Dr. Andrew Skaff

Senior Chemistry Advisor

Senior Advisor

Phil Dillard

Phil Dillard is an entrepreneur, executive and educator with expertise in finance and strategy. A Philadelphia native, now living in San Francisco, Phil completed his BS in General Science, U.S. Naval Academy. After spending nearly 7 years on active duty with the US Navy, he completed MBA in Finance and Strategy at the Chicago Booth Business School. After several years as a corporate strategy consultant, manufacturing executive, and corporate strategy/innovation consultant, Phil embarked on his entrepreneurial career. He leveraged his experience from multiple industries to launch a small wind CleanTech company, serve as an advisor to a BioPlastics company and lead as CFO of a marketing automation company. Currently, independent consultant and trainer with the Lean Startup Company, Phil helps early stage and growth companies develop and implement strategies and processes that build a foundation for profitable growth. He is also an adjunct MBA professor of Negotiations and Entrepreneurship at Golden Gate University, adjunct professor of Finance at Palo Alto University, and a board member at CiviCorps in Oakland California.