Brett Helm (born May 8, 1962) is a former United States Air Force officer and a prominent entrepreneur and investor. He served as a B-52 aviator during Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield, earning several commendations, including three Air Medals. Transitioning to the tech industry, Helm co-founded and led multiple innovative companies, including iPivot, which was acquired by Intel. He has made significant investments in various startups and venture capital firms. Helm is an accomplished off-road motorcycle racer, winning multiple SCORE International championships and Baja 1000 events.

Career

United States Air Force

Helm entered the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

in 1988. He attended

Officer Training School Officer Training School (OTS) is a United States Air Force and United States Space Force commissioning program located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Overview Officer Training School is a part of the Jeanne M. Holm Center fo ...

Lackland Air Force Base Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of Sa ...

. He graduated from

Flight Training School {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Pilot Training Squadron based at RNZAF Base Ohakea, and trained RNZAF pilots from 1966 until 2015. Origins Military pilot training during World War I was undertaken by private contractors; principally the New Ze ...

Mather Air Force Base Mather Air Force Base (Mather AFB) was a United States Air Force Base, which was closed in 1993 pursuant to a post-Cold War BRAC decision. It was located east of Sacramento, on the south side of U.S. Route 50 in Sacramento County, Californ ...

in 1989. As a

B-52 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air ...

aviator, he flew 26 combat missions in

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

and

Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. Helm was awarded numerous commendations during his USAF career, including three

Air Medals The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

for combat flying.

Entrepreneur

Helm began his career in the business startup sector as an early employee at

US West US West, Inc. (stylized as US WEST) was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, also referred to as "Baby Bells"), created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement (''United States v. Western Electric Co., Inc.'' 552 ...

. He subsequently joined

@Home Network @Home Network was a high-speed cable Internet service provider from 1996 to 2002. It was founded by Milo Medin, cable companies Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), Comcast, and Cox Communications, and William Randolph Hearst III, who was their fir ...

as an early employee, where he played a key role in establishing @Work, serving as its vice president and general manager. In 1997, Helm co-founded and became CEO of iPivot, a company that was an early tech innovator. Intel acquired iPivot in 1999 for $500 million and appointed Helm as the general manager of their newly created Network Equipment Division. In 2000, Helm invested in Sanera Systems and assisted the company in securing its first two rounds of funding. Sanera Systems was acquired by McData for $130 million in 2003. Helm also co-founded Coradiant, serving as an investor and Board member. Although professionally funded in 2000, Helm did not become an employee of Coradiant until 2005. Helm is also a co-founder and investor in DB CyberTech.

Investments

Helm invested in IPivot, Sanera Systems, Coradiant, DB CyberTech as well as multiple Venture Capital firms.

Off-road motorcycle racing

Helm is an

off-road Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...

motorcycle racer. Helm began racing competitively in 2005. He races in a class for riders over 40 years old. He won three SCORE International off-road racing championships in 2007, 2008, and 2010.SCORE International 2008 Class Champions He competed in and won three prestigious

Baja 1000 The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearl ...

(Class 40) events in 2007, 2008, 2009. He raced at the famous

Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...

on a

dirt bike The six main types of motorcycles are generally recognized as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', and ''dual-purpose''. ''Sport touring'' is sometimes recognized as a seventh category or integrated with the ''touring' ...

exceeding 130 mph.

Off-road racing record

References

External links

2011 Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 Face SheetDust Off-Road Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helm, Brett 1962 births American computer businesspeople American technology chief executives American technology company founders Businesspeople from California American chairpersons of corporations Intel people Living people Off-road motorcycle racers Recipients of the Air Medal American venture capitalists Utah State University alumni