Having served for more than a decade in the U.S. Marine Corps, Michael Dodd now leads efforts to strengthen national security by accelerating the military’s adoption of commercial technologies. He does this as principal of the Defense Innovation Unit of National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) in Carmel, Indiana. NSIC is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). As principal, Michael Dodd provides executive leadership and program management, establishes technology road maps for the DOD, and oversees direct investments in technologies like advanced computing and microelectronics.
Concurrently, Michael Dodd is the vice president of strategic partnerships at the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL) in Washington, D.C. There, he creates comprehensive strategies to guide advances in areas essential to national defense. He coordinates with private sector stakeholders to develop mission-ready hypersonics and guided the RAMP-C program which established a vibrant US semiconductor ecosystem to supply the DOD with cutting-edge integrated circuits.
Michael Dodd previously worked as a university program director at Indiana University and as a director of the Indiana Innovation Institute. In the latter role, he managed a pipeline of institutional, private equity, and venture capital investors investing in startups with intellectual property in DOD focus areas. Michael Dodd has additional experience as the director of a private equity fund in Boston.
To prepare himself for his career, Michael Dodd studied political science at The Catholic University of America. He has volunteered with the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum to inspire collaborations that promote innovation in the national security community.