What was your role in the military?
I began my career with the military in 1991, as a Field Artillery Officer. Over the years, I spent time as a Fire Support Officer, Platoon Leader, and Division Fire Support Coordinator. I was part of the Army’s experiment to build the first digitized fighting brigade and division, known as Force XXI. Finally, I commanded a Multiple Launch Rocket System Battery. After command, I was designated as an Operations Research Systems Analyst, went to graduate school, and then taught math at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Following West Point, I spent two tours at the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), working on counter-IED efforts–primarily predictive analytics, terrorist network illumination, and targeting. After JIEDDO, I served a short stint at the U.S. Army Manpower Analysis Agency before moving to White Sands Missile Range. There, I served as the Deputy Director for the TRADOC Analysis Center at White Sands (TRAC-WSMR). In this role, I focused on operational analysis for the Army’s acquisition programs.
From there, I moved to U.S. Special Operations Command, where I was the Director of Strategic Plans and Analysis. In this role, I was dual-hatted as the Chief Data Scientist for the Command, and established the first Data Engineering Lab. In my final role with the military, I moved to Pittsburgh, where I served as the Deputy Director of the Army’s AI Task Force, focused on bringing AI to the tactical edge. After 31 years of service, I retired from the military in May 2022.
How did your experience inform your perspective in the private sector?
My time in the Army definitely taught me the value of building a team and being a selfless leader. Never ask your team to do something you wouldn’t do yourself. The principles of leadership in the Army apply at Govini too! I also built up a distinct understanding of the data, analytics, network, and software issues that exist in the Army and across the Department of Defense, which allows me to understand the problem set they face–and build solutions to solve it.
What made you choose to join Govini?
Originally, I had thought I would go back to work for the government after retiring. However, after seeing Govini at work, I made the decision that I could make a bigger impact at Govini than inside the Pentagon. The Department moves at glacial speed, and is often resistant to change. Govini has the agility and velocity to help the Department make a fundamental change in how it manages and uses data.