Michael Brown

Michael Brown is the Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) at the U.S. Department of Defense. DIU, established in 2015, fields leading-edge capability to the military using commercial technologies faster and more cost-effectively than traditional Pentagon acquisition methods. With offices in Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin and at the Pentagon, DIU’s mission is to access and stimulate the national security innovation base, a critical element of the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

Previously, Michael served two years (2016-2018) as a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow at the Defense Department. He is the co-author of a Pentagon study on China’s participation in the U.S. venture ecosystem, a catalyst for the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) providing expanded jurisdiction to CFIUS. Additionally, he led the initiative for a new Defense Department-sponsored investment vehicle, National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) to fund dual-use hardware technology companies. Both FIRRMA and NSIC were signed into law by the President in August 2018.

Through August of 2016, Michael was the CEO of Symantec Corporation, the global leader in cybersecurity and the world’s 10th largest software company with revenues of $4 billion and more than 10,000 employees worldwide.

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