Michael Madsen is the Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) at the U.S. Department of Defense. Established in 2015, DIU fields leading-edge commercial capabilities to the military faster and more cost-effectively than traditional defense acquisition methods. With offices in Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin, Chicago, and at the Pentagon, DIU is embedded in key innovation ecosystems across the country and builds direct relationships with organizations that strengthen our national security innovation base.

As the Deputy Director, Mike manages strategic relationships with senior defense officials by leading DIU’s Defense Engagements Team and commercial technology and venture leaders under the Commercial Engagement Team. He also oversees DIU’s operations strategy, including managing its planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE) process in coordination with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)).

Before joining DIU, Mike was the Executive Director for the Section 809 Congressional Advisory Panel on Streamlining Acquisition. The Panel provided the intellectual underpinnings for acquisition reform language in defense authorization statutes.

Prior to this, Mike served for 22 years in the U.S. Air Force where he led at the group and squadron levels and is a decorated combat pilot. Mike retired from the Air Force while he was the Senior Air Force Advisor to the Director at the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Mike also served as Division Chief in Legislative Liaison in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, directly advising the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force on issues before the congressional defense committees.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology from the University of Nebraska and Master’s degrees in international relations, national security strategy, and national security studies. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.