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Lux backs founders working on some of the hardest problems in science and technology. Building those companies requires more than capital; it requires navigating the complex web of institutions, agencies, and power structures that determine whether a breakthrough technology actually reaches the world. Today, we’re excited to welcome someone who has spent his entire career doing just that: Zach Iscol, our newest Venture Partner.

Together with Venture Partners Brett McGurk and Tony Thomas, Zach will help us expand our initiatives to marry the expansion and promise of technology with public policy and security, whether at the level of international diplomacy (Brett), defense and the US government (Tony), or, in Zach’s case, local governments, healthcare and critical infrastructure. 

Zach is particularly well suited to the task, having recently served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Emergency Management, overseeing the city’s preparedness and response to its most complex crises, including close to 70 Emergency Operations Center activations for extreme weather, infrastructure failures, and mass casualty, public health, and cyber events. Before that, he led over 40 federal, state and city agencies as deputy director of the Joint New York Medical Station, one of the largest and most successful COVID field hospitals in the country. He came into both roles as an outsider, built trust from scratch, and delivered. 

A wildly respected veteran, Zach served as a combat-decorated Marine infantry officer in the Second Battle of Fallujah and on other assignments throughout Iraq, Africa and the Middle East, earning a Bronze Star for valor and playing a pivotal role in the development of US Marine Corps Special Operations. Following his service, he founded The Headstrong Project, which now provides cost and bureaucracy-free mental healthcare to over 1,000 veterans and service members per week across the United States. 

“Throughout my career, I’ve seen that the hardest problems don’t get solved by technology alone,” said Ischol. “They get solved when the right people understand both the technology and the institution. That’s the gap I want to help Lux founders close.” 

The through-line across all of it: Zach walks into hard institutions and tough situations and makes them work. 

At Lux, he’ll bring that directly to our founders. For companies whose technology touches public life, having a partner who has actually run one of these institutions – not just advised from the outside – is rare. We’re thrilled to have him join the team.