The CEO of Brightstar Innovations Group, LLC, John J. Bartrum (56 yrs), is a Capitol Hill veteran and retired federal Senior Executive Service career official with over 38 years of federal appropriations, healthcare, life science, defense, veterans and regulatory experience. An Air Force Major General, John is the Reserve Mobilization Assistant to the Air Force and Space Force Surgeon General. Elected as a Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration.

In his prior federal positions, he advised both parties as a majority senior professional staffer to the US House Appropriations Committee from 2009 to 2017. He was responsible for policy and funding issues relating to the National Institutes of Health and its 27 institutes, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency, among others; and the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector more broadly. While in the House of Representatives position, he was instrumental in developing the Ebola supplemental bill, including designing the infectious disease hospital network; the emergency management and public health response to the Zika virus; and Superstorm Sandy funding.

Prior to this position, he was an Associate Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as its Budget Director. John previously served in the National Security Division of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Executive Office of the President, responsible for advising on key activities in the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, including wartime supplemental requests for medical, research and healthcare operations. In addition to his substantial general government operations and healthcare experience, John has over 38 years of military experience in both active duty and as a reserve officer.

Major General Bartrum, a combat veteran, is the senior Air Force Reserve Medical and Medical Service Corps (Healthcare Executive) officer. As the mobilization assistant to the Surgeon General of the Air Force and Space Force, he assists in the leadership for a $6.1 billion health system involving a 44,000-person integrated health care delivery system serving 2.6 million beneficiaries at 76 Air Force military treatment facilities worldwide. In 2020, he was mobilized as the Government-wide COVID-19 Emergency Support Function-8 (Public Health and Medical Services) Deputy Incident Manager.

John enhanced the interagency doctrine and oversaw the coordination of the joint federal agency medical response. He was recognized with many awards for this activity to include the Department of Health and Human Services Pinnacle Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Federal Health Care Executive Award for Excellence from the American Hospital Association. John was a Partner in a global law firm where he advised numerous corporate clients on federal government policy and operational issues related to health/life sciences, biomedical, veterans/defense, education/training, and general government issues.

John currently is a board member on two biomedical start-ups. From February 2017 to May 2019, he was a partner at Squire Patton Boggs where he provided strategic and legal advice in areas related to public policy, health care, government finance, and defense related areas. From June 2019 to present, he was employed by Brightstar Innovations Group, LLC as its Chief Executive Officer.

As a result of recent departures from the board and the new appointments, the committees of the board of directors currently consists of the following members: John Bartrum: Chair of nominating and corporate and governance committee, member of audit committee and compensation committee. Wayne Bale: Chair of compensation committee, member of audit committee and nominating and corporate governance committee. Geoff Mullins: Chair of audit committee, member of compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee.