The ADI Team

At ADI, we’ve worked hard to build a dedicated team of individuals who have established invaluable working relationships with decision makers across the Federal Government and throughout the private sector. Our senior staff draws on their extensive government service working on the Hill, in federal agencies and in active duty to contribute to your organization’s success. We are your force multiplier in Washington, DC.

Leadership

Van D. Hipp, Jr.
Chairman

Van Hipp is Chairman of American Defense International, Inc. (ADI), a Washington, DC based consulting firm specializing in government affairs, business development and public relations.

From 1986 to 1989, Van Hipp served as the Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party. In 1988, Hipp served as a member of the Presidential Electoral College, and as a speaker at the Republican National Convention, he introduced former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.

In 1990, Van Hipp was sworn in as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Reserve Forces and Mobilization). In this capacity, he served as the Army Secretariat’s “point man” for the successful mobilization, and then demobilization, of the Army’s reserve forces for Operation Desert Shield/Storm.

Following the “Tailhook Scandal,” Hipp was named by Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney to be the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Navy. As the Navy’s number two lawyer, Hipp’s responsibilities involved all aspects of legal interest to the Navy, including government contracts, ethics, environmental and counter-narcotics law. Hipp served in this capacity until January 1993.

Hipp is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served on active duty in both Operation Desert Storm and Operation Restore Democracy. He continues to speak on defense issues at public forums across the country, and his articles on defense and international policy have been widely read in the national print media.

Since the September 11th attacks on the United States, Hipp has appeared on the Fox News Channel well over 400 times as an expert commentator on the War on Terror and has been a guest on virtually all of the network’s major news programming including The O’Reilly Factor and Hannity and Colmes. In addition, he has appeared on MSNBC, including HardBall and Scarborough Country, CNN with Paula Zahn and Daybreak, the London-based Sky News Channel, and the CBS Evening News. He formerly served on the President’s Council of the National Safe Skies Alliance. In 2002, Hipp was named by then Governor Jim Hodges (D-SC) as South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development. In 2011, Hipp was instrumental in organizing the Commander-in-Chief Debate at Wofford College, the first foreign policy and national security Republican presidential debate, which was sponsored by CBS News and National Journal. He is the past Chairman of the Salvation Army Board of Advisors in Alexandria, VA, and currently serves as a member of the National Capital Salvation Army Advisory Board, and as a member of the Board of Visitors of Charleston Southern University.

Hipp received his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Wofford College, and is a past President of the National Alumni Association. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. In 1990, Van was the recipient of Wofford College’s National Young Alumnus of the Year Award. Van Hipp is married to the former Jane Grote of Nashville, Tennessee, and they have three children: Trey, Sarah Camille, and Jackson. Van and his family reside in Alexandria, VA.

Michael H. Herson
President

Michael Herson is President and Chief Executive Officer of American Defense International, Inc. He was raised in New Jersey and has a Bachelors Degree in American Government from Georgetown University, a Juris Doctor from Rutgers University School of Law, and a Masters Degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.

While a student at Georgetown, Michael Herson was selected to be a White House Intern where he served in the Executive Office of President Ronald Reagan and on the speech writing staff of Vice President George Bush. After returning to Washington in 1990, Herson was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management and Personnel, the Pentagon’s senior manpower official responsible for all personnel policy and oversight of the recruiting, training, compensation, support, and management of the Department’s military and civilian personnel.

After leaving the Department of Defense in early 1993, Michael Herson joined the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution as a Visiting Fellow for National Security Affairs. From April 1993 to June 1993, Herson was part of the team that successfully defended the Great Lakes Naval Training Center before the Base Closure Commission. From August 1993 through September 1994, Michael Herson was the Assistant Vice President of HealthCare Imaging Services, Inc. in Middletown, New Jersey, a health care company which specializes in magnetic resonance imaging. On June 7, 1994, Michael Herson won the Republican primary election becoming his party’s nominee for the U.S. Congress in New Jersey’s Sixth District and received national recognition as one of the youngest candidates in the country.

Michael Herson has served as a national security advisor to several congressional candidates and is also the recipient of several honors and awards. In 1993, he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. He was MDA of Central Jersey’s Man of the Year in 1994, and he was the keynote speaker at the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, DC in January 1995. He has been quoted as a political and defense expert in many national and Washington publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Businessweek, Investor’s Business Daily, The Huffington Post, The Hill, and Roll Call and has been interviewed on National Public Radio. The Hill newspaper named him as one of the top lobbyists in Washington and one of the top “Hired Guns” in the city.

George J. Phillips
Chief Operating Officer

George J. Phillips is the Chief Operating Officer of American Defense International, Inc.

His background includes over 30 years of service with the U.S. Marine Corps as an enlisted man, officer, and in civil service, and is a retired Marine Corps officer. Starting out in the infantry and serving in Vietnam, he moved on to positions of increased responsibility, including a tour as a Marine Corps Drill Instructor, Platoon Commander, G-3 operations Staff NCO and Fleet Marine Force Pacific Ammunition Officer, and ended his career as the Manager for Ammunition for the Marine Corps. In his career, he became an expert in the DoD requirements, procurement and budget processes, as well as the business practices of the department related to the Life Cycle Management of DoD programs and products.  Mr. Phillips has served on various joint boards and committees, including the Joint Ordnance Commander’s Executive Committee and the U.S. Department of Defense Explosive Safety Board.

After leaving the Marine Corps in February 1997, Mr. Phillips established his own company, George Phillips Associates, Inc., to support the companies doing business with the DoD.  In 1997, he became a member of the ADI Board of Advisors and has worked closely with ADI for ten years.

His personal decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, two Meritorious Service Medals, two Bronze Stars with Combat V, two Purple Hearts, Combat Action Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal with one star and the Distinguished Civilian Service Award.

Mr. Phillips was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has a bachelor’s degree in business from LaVerne University, and a Master of Science degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. Additionally, his completed professional education studies include: Communicating in a Hostile Environment, MIT/Harvard University, 1996; Crisis Communication Course, Columbia University, 1996; Environmental Regulation Course, 1993; Defense Systems Management Course (Program Management), 1991 and the Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare Course, 1980.