Four U.S. Air Force Academy graduates have joined the Air Force Academy Foundation board of directors. The board is the governing body of the Air Force Academy Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the Academy through philanthropy.

The four new board directors are Louis Bremer of Dallas, Texas; Paul Capon of New York, New York; Brad Meissen of Evanston, Illinois; and Patrick Nesbitt of Carpinteria, California.

Board Chairman Alex Gilbert ’87 praised the new directors for the expertise they bring to the organization’s mission.

“With experience in investing, business, entrepreneurship, law and, of course, military leadership, our newest board directors will provide great insights and guidance as we complete the Defining Our Future campaign this year and plan for our organization’s future and the future of the Air Force Academy,” Gilbert said.

Louis Bremer is the founder and CEO of Windage Partners, a middle-market-focused private equity firm making control investments in the aerospace, defense and government services end-markets. Since 2002, he has led or advised on more than $25 billion in strategic mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions. He has held board positions with numerous private equity-backed companies, including as the chairman of Root9B and Creative Radicals.

“The Air Force Academy galvanized in me the foundational values of hard work, service, integrity and perseverance that my parents instilled,” Bremer says. “Joining the Foundation board is an honor and a unique opportunity to further the Academy's mission to train the next generation of American leaders who exemplify these core values.”

Bremer was commissioned in the U.S. Navy in 1992 and served eight years as a Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) officer. As a platoon commander, he led numerous classified, multinational operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina during Operation Joint Forge.

In 2007, Bremer was appointed by President George W. Bush to the 2007-2008 Class of White House Fellows and served on the Homeland Security Council staff in the executive office of the president. He was the director of strategy and resources and co-authored the 2007 National Strategy for Homeland Security.

Bremer earned his bachelor’s degree in 1992 from the U.S. Air Force Academy and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Paul Capon has over a decade of experience managing teams and investing in and running companies, including private equity, startups and those in distressed situations. He is the founder and CEO of Stellar Alliance, a private equity and venture capital group focused on buying and investing in companies in the aerospace and defense industry. He also founded and is managing partner of LunaCap Ventures, a venture debt firm focused on hybrid growth capital investing. Capon also served as CEO of higher education publishing company Wessex Press.

“The Air Force Academy provided me the tools needed to believe in myself, lead others and work toward my goals to make a positive difference in the world,” Capon says. “Serving as a Foundation board director is my opportunity to help provide the same opportunities to others to make a positive impact in the world going forward.”

Capon is an investor in and on the board of New Majority Capital, a fund that teaches and invests in individuals focused on self-funded search acquisitions. Capon is also the founder of LunaCap Foundation, a nonprofit that provides scholarships to active-duty U.S. military personnel, U.S. armed forces veterans and students of Mexican descent attending top-tier business schools. Before these positions, Capon served as a logistics officer for five years in the U.S. Air Force.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in management from the Air Force Academy in 2006. He also holds MBAs from Columbia Business School and the London Business School.

Brad Meissen is an attorney at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, where he represents private equity and venture capital fund sponsors in their organization, operations, management, capital raises and portfolio investments. Before entering the private sector, Meissen served as an aerospace physiology officer in the U.S. Air Force, leading high G-force and high-altitude training programs.

“The United States Air Force Academy has been foundational in shaping my personal ideals and professional career,” Meissen says. “I am honored to have the opportunity to continue to support the premier institution for developing leaders of character.”

Meissen received his bachelor’s degree from the Air Force Academy in 2007. He was a letterman on the football team and an Academic All-Mountain West Conference selection. He earned his JD from Northwestern University School of Law and his MBA in finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Patrick Nesbitt is the founder, chairman and CEO of Windsor Capital Group Inc. based in Santa Monica, California. Since he founded WCG over 49 years ago, the company has become the largest private owner and operator of Embassy Suites Hotels in the United States. WCG operates 10 branded hotels in four states. The company's development projects also include office buildings, shopping centers, apartment complexes and residential developments.

“Attending the Air Force Academy was a life-changing experience that provided me with opportunities that I never imagined growing up in Detroit, Michigan,” Nesbitt says. “As a board director for the Foundation, I hope to help the Academy focus on its core mission of providing military leadership to the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force.”

Nesbitt is a member of the World Presidents Organization and the Young Presidents Organization. He is actively involved in the high-goal polo circuit nationally and internationally. He represents the U.S. as a member of the Council of Administration of the Federation of International Polo and is the executive director of the Pan American Polo Confederation.

He is a member of the board of trustees of the Whittier College School of Law in Los Angeles, California and chairman of the development committee at his alma mater in Detroit, Catholic Central High School.

Nesbitt earned his bachelor’s degree at the Air Force Academy in 1967 and a master’s in systems engineering from the University of Michigan. He also earned his JD from Whittier College.