Panel On: The Defense Innovation Ecosystem

Brian Schimpf

Co-Founder and CEO

Anduril Industries

Brian Schimpf is Co-Founder and CEO of Anduril Industries where he drives the strategic direction and product roadmap of the defense technology company.

Prior to Anduril, Brian was Director of Engineering at Palantir Technologies, where he led a large engineering organization developing and deploying data integration and analysis products. He served numerous domestic and international government organizations across the intelligence, defense and law enforcement sectors.

Previously, Brian was the Founder and Lead of Cornell University’s autonomous vehicle research program where his teams competed in DARPA’s Grand Challenge and Urban Challenge. Brian graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering.

MG Rich Staats

Commanding General

US Army Reserves 75th Innovation Command

Major General (MG) Rich Staats is the Commanding General for the 75th Innovation Command, responsible for leveraging the civilian education, skills, experience and certifications resident in the US Army Reserve. As a two-star general command, the 75^th is the senior military headquarters in the fourth largest city in the U.S. as well as in the surrounding region. MG Staats was commissioned at the United States Military Academy and served in positions of increasing responsibility over the next 36 years of commissioned service including six commands at every level from Company Commander to two-star Commanding General. MG Staats served overseas in five of these commands including service in active combat zones for three of them. MG Staats has served in a number of Joint and Interagency assignments and support including: the Joint Staff, the Defense Logistics Agency, the Foreign Service Institute, and Multinational Force Iraq. He is a graduate of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School.  MG Staats was the first Senior Fellow for the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group.

MG Staats has attended a number of military schools including the Quartermaster Basic and Advanced Courses (honor graduate for both), Intermediate Level Education, Command and General Staff College (Pershing Award winner/top graduate), and the US Army War College.

His military awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal. MG Staats was also awarded the Polish Medal of Distinction and the US State Department Superior Honor Award for actions in combat. He is authorized to wear both the Army and Joint Staff badges.

MG Staats’ holds a Ph.D. from the Electrical Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied as a Hertz Fellow, as well as a Masters in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College.

In his role as a Citizen-Soldier, Dr. Staats served for over 25 years as a contributor at various "Think Tanks" in the DC area culminating with a position as the Director of a $100M program supporting the DoD. Dr. Staats is a Distinguished Fellow for the Institute for Stability and Transition and served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the parent organization for the Texas A&M University system. He has contributed to six books and dozens of articles ranging in topics from artificial intelligence and world and society building to game design and the theoretical value of information. In 1996, the European Engineering Society named Dr. Staats as one of the top 100 information engineers. He has produced seven commercials, music albums, is an active public speaker, and maintains several popular YouTube channels related to work and hobbies.

MG Staats is married to beloved Ann Staats (formerly Klughammer), and they are blessed with five children: Kathy (medical doctor), Liz (chef), Ben (former Marine and CEO of his own company), Chloe (marketing), and Chris (financial analyst). Beloved Ann is a high school teacher of English as a Second Language, and she is an award winning children’s author.

Thomas Hendrix

Co-Founder and Managing Partner

Decisive Point

Thomas Hendrix is Co-Founding Partner and Managing Director at Decisive Point. He is an investor and advisor to multiple early-stage ventures with a focus on critical technologies for government and national security. He began his career in the private sector as an Analyst at Blackstone and was previously an entrepreneur in residence at ZX Ventures. Thomas served for ten years in the US Army as a Special Forces Officer, most recently commanding in the USCENTCOM Counterterrorism Crisis Response Force. He earned an MBA from Columbia Business School, a Masters in Legal Studies with a focus in Government Procurement from George Washington University Law School, and holds a BS in American Legal Systems from the United States Military at West Point.

Matthew Merighi

Northeast Regional Director

National Security Innovation Network

Matt Merighi is the Northeast Regional Director for the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), an organization which engages new pools of human capital to solve problems faced by the Department of Defense (DoD). NSIN runs National Service, Collaboration, and Acceleration programs to provide professional development and employment opportunities for students.