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2025 Keynote Speakers
Jake Sullivan
Fmr. U.S. National Security Advisor
Jake Sullivan served as the National Security Advisor for the Biden administration from 2021 to 2025. A seasoned foreign policy expert, he was a senior policy advisor for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the Obama administration. At the State Department, he was Director of Policy Planning and a key senior advisor in the Iran nuclear negotiations, significantly shaping U.S. strategy. Sullivan is a Yale College graduate, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, and Yale Law School alumnus who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In January 2025, he joined Harvard Kennedy School as the inaugural Kissinger Professor of the Practice of Statecraft and World Order.
Dr. Mark Esper
Former Secretary of Defense
Dr. Mark T. Esper, a 1986 West Point graduate, served in the Infantry with the 101st Airborne during the 1990–91 Gulf War and commanded a Rifle Company in Italy before retiring in 2007 after 10 active-duty years and 11 in the Guard/Reserve. Post-military, he served as Chief of Staff at The Heritage Foundation, advisor to Senator Hagel and Senate Majority Leader Frist, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President Bush. A decorated veteran with awards including the DoD Medal for Distinguished Public Service, he earned an MPA from the Kennedy School and a doctorate from George Washington University. He served as Secretary of the Army before becoming the 27th Secretary of Defense (July 23, 2019–Nov. 9, 2020).
LtGen Frank Donovan
USSOCOM | Vice Commander
Lieutenant General Frank Donovan serves as Vice Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command. An infantry, reconnaissance, and special operations officer, he has led Marines and Sailors in all three Marine Expeditionary Forces—commanding units from a Force Recon Platoon to a Marine Division—and directed Naval Task Forces in the 5th and 6th Fleets. His commands include a Marine Corps Security Forces Detachment in Crete, a FAST platoon, and an Eastern PA Recruiting Station, as well as roles in special operations training and expeditionary warfare. Joint tours include serving as J35 at USSOCOM, Branch Chief for the Joint Staff’s T2C2, and Assisting Commanding General at JSOC. He holds a BA in Geography, master’s degrees in Military and Strategic Studies, and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Rob Wittman
Congressman | Virginia, District 1
Congressman Rob Wittman serves as vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. He advocates for national security strategies, balancing immediate threats with long-term modernization efforts, prioritizing servicemembers. Wittman was appointed to the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party in 2023 to counter CCP threats. He emphasizes fiscal responsibility while supporting military strength and readiness, particularly in Virginia.
Jen Kiggans
Congresswoman | Virginia, District 2
Congresswoman Jen Kiggans represents Virginia's Second Congressional District, serving on the Armed Services, Veterans’ Affairs, and Natural Resources Committees. A Navy veteran and nurse practitioner, she advocates for the military community. Before Congress, she served in the Virginia State Senate, championing legislation for military spouses and long-term care. Jen aims to bring civility and competence to politics, providing strong leadership for Virginians.
Pat Ryan
Congressman | New York, District 18
Congressman Pat Ryan is a Hudson Valley native and West Point graduate, serving two combat tours in Iraq and earning two Bronze Stars. He was Ulster County Executive before his 2022 election to Congress. Ryan focuses on defending freedoms and economic relief for Hudson Valley families. On the House Armed Services Committee, he addresses military preparedness and national security, co-chairing the Defense Modernization Caucus to integrate new technologies. Ryan lives in Gardiner, NY, with his wife and two sons.
Acquisition Panel
Matt MacGregor - Anduril | Sr. Director
Raj Shah - Shield Capital | Managing Partner
Greg Smith - TIGRE Global Solutions | President
Erik Raven - Beacon Global Services | Managing Director
Alliances Panel
Rebecca Zimmerman - JHU APL | Senior Strategist for Homeland Defense
BGen. (Ret.) Robert Spalding - SEMPRE | CEO
Commodore Roger Readwin - UK Royal Navy | Naval Attaché to the USA
Eric Traupe - Lightspeed Venture Partners | Operating Partner
Jude Sunderbruch - OakTruss Group | Managing Director
Autonomy Panel
David Michelson - DIU | Director, Autonomy
Colin Carroll - DOD | Chief of Staff
Kara Kramer - AeroVironment | Director, Business Development
Brian Streem - Vermeer | CEO & Founder
Dr. Matt Markel - Epirus | CTO
Eric Rosenbach - Harvard Kennedy School | Director, DETS
Commercial Tech Panel
Aditi Kumar - DIU | Former Principal Deputy Director
Chip Walter - Marlinspike | Managing Director
Josh Marcuse - Google Public Sector | Director of Strategic Initiaitives
Tom Huntley - REGENT Craft | Vice President, Government Relations and Defense
Digital & AI Panel
Chris Benson - Istari Digital | Co-Founder & CTO
Justin Fanelli - U.S. Navy | CTO & Tech Director, PEO Digital
Enrique Oti - Second Front Systems | Chief Strategy Officer
Brig Gen Michael McGinley - U.S. Air Force | Director, GigEagle
Eugene Kuznetsov - CDAO | Chief Information Officer
Energy & Materials Panel
Anthony Marchese - Texas Mineral Resources Corp. | Chairman
Catherine Crooks - Fluor Solutions | Lead for Defense Growth & Strategy
Daniel Allan - ICD Group | Advisor, Government Affairs
Anthony Balladon - Phoenix Tailings | Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer
Founders Panel
Brandon Tseng - Shield AI | Co-Founder & President
Nini Hamrick - Vannevar Labs | Co-Founder & President
Cam McCord - Nominal | Co-Founder & CEO
Billy Thalheimer - REGENT | Co-Founder & CEO
Austin Gray - Blue Water Autonomy | Chief Strategy Officer
Investing Panel
Steve Bowsher - In-Q-Tel | CEO
Veronica Daigel - Red Cell Partners | President, National Security
Arun Gupta - NobleReach | CEO
Israel Ruiz - Engine Ventures | President
Michael Brown - Shield Capital | Partner
Reindustrialization Panel
Joseph Larson - Anduril Industries | SVP of National Security Operations
Steven Escaravage - Booz Allen Hamilton | President, Defense Technologies
Austin Bishop - Reindustrialize / NAIA | CEO
Emily Nguyen - Palantir Technologies | Head of Industrials
Stephen Rodriguez - DCVC | Investor
Shipbuilding Panel
Mark Vandroff - Fincantieri Marine Group | SVP, Government Affairs
Admiral Mike Gilday, USN (Retired) - Crossover Solutions National Security | CEO
Vince Stammetti - Blue Forge Alliance | COO & EVP
Phil MacNaughton - House Armed Services Committee | Professional Staff Member
Space Panel
Michael Madrid - Starfish Space | Chief Growth Officer
Even Rogers - True Anomaly | CEO & Co-Founder
Shey Sabripour - CesiumAstro | CEO & Founder
John Serafini - HawkEye 360 | CEO
Col Peter Mastro - Space Futures Task Force | Lead for Concept and Technology
Mo Islam - Arkaea Media Group | Co-Founder
Supply Chain Panel
Halimah Najieb-Locke - Entanglement, Inc. | VP of Policy and Strategy
Chris Miller - Fletcher School | Professor of International History
Asad Akram - Office of Strategic Capital | Deputy Director for Strategy
Amy Morgan - Altana | VP, Trade Compliance
Tough Tech Panel
Dhruva Rajendra - Deterrence | CEO and Co-Founder
Jim Matheson - Harvard Business School | Senior Lecturer
Ethan Thornton - Mach Industries | Founder & CEO
Earl Jones - DCVC | Operating Partner
Ukraine Panel
Vladyslav Sobolevskyi - 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of Armed Forces of Ukraine | Deputy Commander
George Kuparashvili - 354th Mechanized Regiment of Armed Forces of Ukraine | Commander
Viktoriia Honcharuk - Hospitalliers Medical Battalion | Combat Medic
Gene R. Keselman - MIT Mission Innovation Experimental (MIx) | Executive Director
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Jasen
Baker
Conference Chair
Jasen is a current MBA student at Harvard Business School. Prior to school, Jasen spent 8 years in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Medic in 1st Special Forces Group.
Clif
Luber
Conference Chair
Clif was a Supply and Logistics Officer in the Navy for 9 years. After the Navy, he worked at Anduril Industries on the Proposal and Capture team. He is currently a student at Harvard Business School.
Moises
Navas
Conference Chair
Moises is a second-year MBA student at MIT Sloan. Prior to graduate school, Moises served for 10 years as an Infantry Officer in the US Marine Corps.
Daryna
Ostafiichuk
Conference Chair
Daryna Ostafiichuk is a second-year MBA student at MIT Sloan. Before Sloan, Daryna spent 5 years with McKinsey & Company, working on digital transformations and operational improvement projects.
Ben Buchheim-Jurrison
Ben is a JD/MBA Candidate at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. Prior to school, Ben worked at Meta and served as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Air Force. After school, Ben will join Snowpoint Ventures as a Senior Associate.
Louis
McCullagh
Louis is an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School focusing on international finance. Previously, he served in the U.S. Air Force as an acquisitions manager and led cyberspace counterintelligence operations.
Dr. Fred
Heiding
Fred is a research fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center, a board member at DEF CON’s Misinformation Village, and part of WEF's Cybercrime Center. He has appeared in Black Hat, DEF CON, BSides, IEEE Access, and HBR. Fred has identified over 45 CVEs.
Greg
Knutson
Greg is an Executive MBA candidate at MIT Sloan and currently at Venus Aerospace, building the future of hypersonics. He served in the Navy as an aviator, tech evaluator, and the Head of Operations for a nuclear aircraft carrier.
Jessica
Souder
Jessica is an Executive MBA student at MIT Sloan working as the Director of Government & Defense for Protect AI. She served for over 15 years as a Paramilitary Operations Officer with the CIA, focusing on covert action and technical programs.
Daniel
Ackeret
Daniel is a second-year MBA student at Harvard Business School. Previously, he worked in corporate development and strategy at RTX’s Pratt & Whitney business unit.
Drew
Borinstein
Drew is an MBA student at HBS. Previously, he served in the US Marine Corps and earned degrees from VMI and Georgia Tech. After HBS, Drew will launch Argus Systems, where he and his co-founder are building AI-powered geospatial intelligence software.
Nate
Wiegand
Nate, a 2nd-year MBA student at MIT Sloan, previously served as a PSYOP Officer in the U.S. Army, specializing in information warfare and counter-misinformation in Europe. Post-graduation, he will join BCG in their TMT and Federal practices.
Lisa
Yan
Lisa is an MBA student at HBS. She previously worked at Waymo as an AI engineer. Post-graduation she will be working on her own defense tech startup Argus Systems, an AI-powered geospatial intelligence software for searching satellite imagery.
Matthew
Bernard
Matthew is a first-year MBA student at HBS. Matthew served 10 years in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Aviator including assignments with HSM-73, the Navy Office of Legislative Affairs, and the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).
Shai
Cohen
Shai is an MBA/MPP candidate at HBS and Harvard Kennedy School. He worked at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, where he focused on autonomy and AI. Before school, Shai worked at the Council on Foreign Relations and Bain & Company.
Josh
Cortez
Josh is a first-year Harvard MPA candidate with previous experience as COO & Chief of Staff in Sports Tech, Senior Staff in Congress and as a tech professor. He graduated from the Darden School at the University of Virginia.
Molly
Hassell
Molly is a first-year Harvard MBA student with previous work experience at SpaceX and in Aerospace & Defense VC. She is also a graduate of both Dartmouth and Oxford, and is a Special Operations veteran with seven combat deployments.
Ryan
Holte
Ryan is a JD/MBA candidate at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. Prior to school, Ryan worked as an Acquisitions Officer in the United States Air Force, where he focused on policy reformation and AI-enabled technology development.
Naveen
Krishnan
Naveen is a researcher studying the PLA and naval technology. He worked on supply chain crises as a BCG consultant and strategic finance analyst. He was a Boren Fellow in Taiwan and is a HKS MPP / Wharton MBA student.
Nick
Maynes
Nick is an MBA/MPA candidate at UC Berkeley / Harvard, focusing on national security, entrepreneurship, and defense ventures. He previously served as a U.S. Army Officer in the 82nd Airborne.
Mike
Murray
Mike is a first-year MBA at MIT Sloan and will be interning this summer with Multitude Insights. Previously, he was a signals intelligence officer in the Marine Corps and graduated from Harvard College. Mike continues to serve as a reservist.
Lachlan
Price
Lachlan is a dual MPP and MBA candidate at Harvard Kennedy School and MIT Sloan. Before graduate school he supported public sector clients - primarily the Australian Defence Force - as a digital consultant with McKinsey Australia.
Jonathan "JQ"
Qu
JQ is a first-year MBA candidate at MIT Sloan. Prior to school JQ worked for 5 years in the Department of Defense as an economic analyst.
Bethany
Russell
Bethany is a MBA/MPP candidate at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. She was both a Schwarzman Scholar and Military Intelligence officer, and she has written about autonomy in DoD and Chinese influence in military supply chains.
Alex
Santangelo
Alex served in the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer onboard a guided destroyer where he specialized in antiterrorism and antisubmarine warfare. He is currently pursuing a joint MBA/MPP degree at the Harvard Kennedy School and HBS.
James
Sorensen
James is a first-year MBA candidate at Harvard Business School. Prior to HBS, James was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey, where he focused on helping senior government leaders solve challenging problems with aerial and space platforms.
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