Former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller joined ACME General Corp live from our New York office to talk about innovation and transformation in national defense. A former Army Special Forces colonel, Chris also previously served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. He is the author of Soldier Secretary: Warnings from the Battlefield & the Pentagon about America’s Most Dangerous Enemies.
Paul Scharre, Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at Center for a New American Security, joins ACME General Corp to talk about his recent trip to Ukraine and his observations of and predictions for autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence. In addition to his work at CNAS, Paul is the award-winning author of Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War and Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
Craig Cummings, co-founder of Moonshots Capital, joins ACME General Corp to talk about investing in tech start-ups founded by military veteran entrepreneurs. In addition to his work at Moonshots Capital, Craig is the Director of Military and Veteran Affairs for Capital Factory, Austin’s center of gravity for entrepreneurs in Texas. Previously, Craig spent 17 years in the Army, most of that time as an Intelligence Officer serving in support of the National Security Agency.
Lt. Gen. Clint Hinote, former Deputy Chief of Staff for Air Force Futures, joins ACME General Corp to talk about representing the voice of tomorrow’s Airmen. He most recently served as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy, Integration, and Requirements at Air Force Futures, where he focused on integrated future force design and speaking on behalf of tomorrow’s Airmen in developing Air Force strategy. Lt. Gen. Hinote was also previously Deputy Executive Director of the Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability and Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He is now a Principal at Pallas Advisors, working to push “emerging technology solutions into the right hands within the national security ecosystem.”
Joseph Kopser, technology entrepreneur and president of consulting firm Grayline Group, joins ACME General Corp. to talk about disruptive change, technology innovation, and the national security implications of adapting to that innovation. Joseph is a US Army combat veteran with 20 years of service who went on to co-found a company that later sold to Mercedes. He has run for Congress, served as an Executive-in-Residence at UT-Austin’s McCombs School of Business, and authored the book Catalyst. Joseph is now a public speaker, technology entrepreneur, expert in transportation, and president of Grayline Group, where he helps companies and institutions manage disruptive change.
Sue Gordon, former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, joins ACME General Corp. to talk about national security, cybersecurity threats, and what intelligence information holds the most value. Sue served as Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence and Deputy Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency after having spent more than two decades at the CIA. She is currently an advisor to a number of organizations in the national defense and security space, including CACI International, with a special focus on information security.
Capt. Ben Van Buskirk, former director of NavalX, joins ACME General Corp. to talk about bringing an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit to naval technology research. Before leading NavalX, Capt. Van Buskirk helped establish the Strategic Warfighting Innovation Cell within the Navy’s Warfighting Development Directorate. Find him on Twitter at @BenVB3 and find NavalX at @USNavalX. Learn more about NavalX here.
Jay Wisham, outgoing executive director of the Army Applications Lab, joins ACME General Corp. to talk about using the best commercial technology and talent to transform innovative tech into Army-ready solutions. Prior to joining AAL, Jay was a Senior Army Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, a Lead for Artificial Intelligence Applications for Army Futures Command's Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross-Functional Team, and Program Director for Project Convergence. Find him on Twitter at @jaywisham and find the Army Applications Lab at @aal_innovation. Learn more about the AAL at aal.army.
Frank Finelli, managing director at the Carlyle Group, and Sam Cole, principal and co-founder of Stonecutter Ventures, both join ACME General Corp. to talk about the potential of capital markets to drive defense innovation. Frank Finelli focuses on investments in the defense and aerospace sector at the Carlyle Group. Learn more here and find the Carlyle Group on Twitter at @OneCarlyle. Learn about Sam’s work at Stonecutter Ventures here. Both Frank and Sam are involved with Business Executives for National Security. Find them on Twitter at @BENS_org.
Chris Albinson, CEO and president of Communitech, joins ACME General Corp. to talk about defense innovation in Canada and why Toronto might soon be the new Silicon Valley. Communitech helps tech companies in Canada start and scale, supporting founders with talent, capital, markets, and community. Before his role at Communitech, Chris was one of the first to invest in startups like Pinterest and DocuSign. Learn more about Communitech at communitech.ca and on Twitter at @Communitech. Find Chris on Twitter at @chrisalbinson.
ACME General Corp. revisits the past three Accelerate Defense interviews, all focused on the role of innovation in addressing strategic challenges faced by the US Navy. Captain Michael Brasseur (@brasseur_mdb) is the co-founder and current Commodore of Task Force 59. Logan Jones is the general manager and president of SparkCognition Government Systems. Bilal Zuberi (@bznotes) is a general partner at Lux Capital.
Bilal Zuberi, general partner at Lux Capital, joins ACME General Corp. to talk about investing in innovative technologies across industries to address some of the world’s most complicated problems. Bilal has led Lux’s investments in companies like Saildrone, Evolv, Applied Intuition, Ironclad, and more. He also cofounded GEO2 Technologies and serves on the Advisory Board of the Lemelson Foundation. Learn more about Lux Capital at luxcapital.com and on Twitter at @Lux_Capital. Find Bilal on Twitter at @bznotes.
Logan Jones, general manager and president of SparkCognition Government Systems, joins ACME General Corp. to talk about ethics, dual use, and artificial intelligence in the public sector. Before leading SparkCognition Government Systems, Logan was Vice President and founding member of Boeing HorizonX, the largest aerospace venture fund and innovation group. He was recently nominated by FedScoop as one of the best bosses in federal IT. Learn more about SparkCognition Government Systems at www.sparkgov.ai and on Twitter at @sparkgov.
Captain Michael Brasseur, co-founder and current Commodore of Task Force 59, joins ACME General Corp. to talk about integrating unmanned systems and artificial intelligence. Before leading Task Force 59, Capt. Brasseur was the Director for Naval Armaments Cooperation at NATO and the first Director of NATO’s Maritime Unmanned Systems Innovation & Coordination Cell (MUSIC2). Follow him on Twitter at @brasseur_mdb.
Chris Lynch, CEO and co-founder of Rebellion Defense, joins host Ken Harbaugh to talk about his “SWAT team of nerds” and building AI tools for national defense. Before leading the team at Rebellion Defense, Chris was founding director at Defense Digital Service and launched programs like JEDI Cloud and Hack the Pentagon. Learn more about Chris and Rebellion Defense at rebelliondefense.com. Follow him on Twitter at @lynchseattle and find Rebellion at @RebellionDef.
Investor and Venrock partner Nick Beim joins ACME General Corp. to talk about Rebellion Defense and building mission-focused artificial intelligence products for the defense industry. Nick is a partner at Venrock and one of the lead investors in Rebellion Defense. Follow him on Twitter at @NickBeim and find Venrock at @Venrock and Rebellion at @RebellionDef. Learn more about Venrock at venrock.com/about-venrock and Rebellion Defense at rebelliondefense.com.
Lieutenant General Mike Groen joins ACME General Corp. to talk about leading the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and the potential of AI to transform the Department of Defense. LtGen Groen is the commander of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), as well as a distinguished Marine Corps officer and veteran of multiple combat deployments. Learn more about the JAIC at ai.mil and find them on Twitter at @DoDJAIC.
Former NASA Administrator and retired Marine Corps Major General Charles Bolden Jr. joins hACME General Corp. to talk about his career, the growing commercial space industry, and how the new space economy intersects with national security concerns. Major General Bolden is also the founder and CEO Emeritus of The Charles F. Bolden Group, a consortium of leaders focused on science and security. Learn more about their work at bolden.group and find Charles on Twitter at @cboldenjr.
Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin joins ACME General Corp. to talk about the Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force and why supply chains are so critical to our national defense. Rep. Slotkin is the congresswoman from Michigan’s 8th district and, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, she chaired the bi-partisan Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force. She is also a former CIA analyst and was the acting assistant secretary of defense for International Security Affairs from 2015 to 2017. Learn more about Rep. Slotkin’s legislative priorities at slotkin.house.gov and find her on Twitter at @RepSlotkin.
Dr. Melissa Flagg joins ACME General Corp. to talk about R&D in the United States and efficiency in the Department of Defense - plus, why she finds optimism in science and history. Dr. Flagg is a senior fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology and has served in a number of roles within the Department of Defense, most recently as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research. Find Melissa on Twitter at @flaggster73.