President and Chief Operating OfficerEddie Mottern
Eddie Mottern is the President and Chief Operating Officer of The Painted Wolf, where he leads innovation, business development, and strategic growth across both defense and commercial markets.
With over 23 years of experience in robotics and autonomy, Eddie is a nationally recognized subject matter expert who has consistently delivered results across complex, high-stakes environments. He played a central role in securing a $228 million Series A capital raise and has built a reputation for scaling operations, forging high-impact partnerships, and delivering disruptive technologies to market.
Previously, Eddie was the COO of RRAI, where he oversaw daily operations during a phase of rapid expansion—growing the company from 80 to over 300 employees, standing up critical business infrastructure, and spearheading the commercialization of autonomous transit systems. His leadership was instrumental in landing major partnerships with New Flyer and Gillig and producing North America’s first fully autonomous electric transit bus. Earlier in his career, Eddie led high-profile autonomy programs at General Dynamics Robotic Systems and helped push Robotic Research into the global commercial market, deploying autonomous shuttles in 11 countries.
He holds an M.S. in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and dual B.S. degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from West Virginia University. Eddie is a published expert on unmanned systems and co-inventor on multiple patents. His career continues to be defined by forward-thinking execution at the intersection of technology, operations, and strategic growth.
Norm Reitter
Co-founder & Chief Revenue OfficerNorm Reitter, a Co-Founder of The Painted Wolf (TPW), provides over 32 years of military, analytics, and technology assessment & transition to support TPW partners grow and thrive within a dynamic Defense Industry ecosystem.
Mr. Reitter has held organizational positions from analyst, to management, and executive level leadership across strategy, growth, business development, capability & talent management, information technology and innovation pillars and cross-organizational support missions. Having led and grown from the ground up and combining both military and commercial experience, he provides a unique perspective on how to translate innovative concepts and business opportunities to reality - meeting business and government where they stand - and always focused on delivering the best solutions to the Warfighter.
Mr. Reitter has over 32 years of experience within the military and Defense community - focusing early on leveraging Marine Corps Logistics experience mixed with operations research methods he has continually evaluated innovative technologies and information solutions impacts on organizations and future military operating concepts. He has developed and demonstrated his principled approach to establish trust and deliver solutions that work across all U.S. military services and NATO organizations. Through this, he has been a part of delivering products and services that work for the military and business partners. As a trusted partner, he has formed a flexible and intentional business partnership approach with like-minded individuals who believe in delivering best value to the government while also building sustainable businesses.
Within The Painted Wolf, Norm provides an experienced, mature Defense-focused business perspective within the TPW Marketplace partnership network.
Mr. Reitter holds a B.S. in Oceanography from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.S. in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School. An avid outdoors enthusiast and conservationist, he lives in Leadville, CO within the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains.
Brandon Newell
Co-founder & Chief Solutions Architect
Steve Harvey
Co-founder & Chief People OfficerSteve Harvey is Chief People Officer of The Painted Wolf, where he supports client engagement and relationship management activities, as well administrative and operations execution.
Steve served 24 years in the Marine Corps, serving in various roles including infantryman, administrator, and information technology manager. After retiring from the Marine Corps, he co-founded The Painted Wolf to apply his skills and experience toward building teams and arming them with the tools to remove barriers to entry for companies with emerging dual use technologies.
Steve earned a B.A in Sociology from St. Leo University and an M.S. in Information Technology Management from the Naval Postgraduate School. He’s an experienced project manager, holding certifications in both traditional and agile project management frameworks. He’s also an accomplished Scrum trainer, human centered design expert, and relationship manager. Steve is at his best when he’s collaborating with high performing people to solve complex problems.