Tidal W. McCoy

Tidal W. "Ty" McCoy (born on April 25, 1945) is an American venture capitalist who served as United States Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs) in the Reagan Administration from 1981 to 1989.^[1]

McCoy was born in Gainesville, Florida, on April 25, 1945.^[2] He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, receiving a B.S. in engineering in 1967 and an M.S. in Business Financial Management from George Washington University in 1975.^[3]

After graduating from West Point, McCoy was deployed to West Germany as a battery commander of the 2nd battalion, 83rd Artillery Regiment, serving as the battery commander for Battery B, a nuclear artillery battery.^[4][3] His unit was considered to be on high alert during his 18 months of service and received numerous U.S. Army awards. He was then deployed to the Republic of Vietnam, where he held command and staff positions for a year before assignment to the Pentagon as the Chief of Intelligence on North Vietnam, providing intelligence reports to the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.^[5]

In 1972, Tidal was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency. McCoy served there until recalled by the Secretary of Defense for assignment to the Immediate Office of the Secretary of Defense as part of the Long Range Planning and Net Assessment Group in the Office of the United States Secretary of Defense.^[4] From 1973 to 1977, he was staff assistant and later a Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. During that time, he also served simultaneously at the National Security Council at the White House. In 1977, he was the Scientific Advisor to Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Engineering and Systems David E. Mann. From 1979 to 1981, he was Assistant for National Security Affairs to Sen. Jake Garn (R–Utah).^[3][4]

In April 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated McCoy to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Manpower & Reserve Affairs).^[3] The Senate Committee on Armed Services held a hearing on June 3, 1981,^[4] and McCoy was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on June 4, 1981.^[4][6] He held that office for the duration of the Reagan Administration. McCoy served as the Acting Under Secretary and Acting Secretary of the Air Force for a period of time throughout the Reagan Administration.

After leaving the government service in 1989, McCoy joined Thiokol as senior vice president for government relations, where he established a wide-ranging government relations program that benefited Thiokol as an aerospace company within the NASA and defense contractor communities. He was a participant in the design of the Thiokol strategy for developing a new, large solid rocket motor with the capability to repel and defeat proposals for a more expensive and potentially very dangerous liquid rocket motor alternative for the Space Shuttle, and led the strategy for a team where Thiokol was a major subcontractor in winning a multi-billion-dollar Minuteman ICBM Contract. McCoy also served as President of Thiokol Technology, the inventor of the automobile airbag (McCoy was not the inventor himself but assisted in its movement through development and to market).

He later founded the George Washington National Bank and served as the bank's vice chairman and Chairman of the Investment Committee.^[7] In 1998, he founded Washington Capital Partners LLC, where he served as its chairman.^[7]

Late in 2017, McCoy co-founded the venture capital fund IronGate Capital Advisors.^[8] The company closed the Fund at $25 Million USD mid-2023,^[9] and is well underway with Fund II. The IronGate does both direct and indirect investments (fund of funds).

As IronGate Capital Advisors was founded, McCoy was drawing attention to a relatively new battlefield. McCoy is quoted as saying, “The Cyberwar, which is an unprecedented threat to our national security, our economic security our personal lives, fortunes and sacred democracy."

McCoy has served as Chairman of the Space Transportation Association since 1996,^[10] and was awarded STA's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.^[11] STA advocates policies that advance robust, affordable space transportation for NASA, the United States Department of Defense, and commercial markets.

McCoy serves as the Vice Chairman of the Defense Forum Foundation,^[12] a U.S. non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting a strong national defense and promoting freedom, democracy, and human rights abroad. It is best known for its Congressional Defense and Foreign Policy Forums, held regularly on Capitol Hill for the benefit of Congressional staff, and for its work abroad promoting the freedom, human rights, and dignity of the people of North Korea.^[13]

Since May 2012, McCoy has served on the board of trustees for the Institute of World Politics, becoming the vice chairman in 2018. McCoy also serves as a Vice Chairman for the Cyber, Space & Intelligence Association where his decades-long experience in Defense and National Security serve the mission of the organization.^[14][15] Since 2022, McCoy has served as a Trustee of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.^[7]

External Links - Tidal McCoy at Linkdin [1]