Honorable Deborah Lee James (Chair)

From December 2013 through January 2017, Deborah served as the 23^rd Secretary of the United States Air Force with responsibility for 660,000 military and civilian personnel and a budget of nearly $140 billion.  She was the second woman to ever lead a military service in the United States.

Prior to this role, she served as President of SAIC's Technical and Engineering sector, a $2 billion, 8,700-person enterprise.  Earlier in her career, Deborah held other P&L positions and worked in the Legislative Branch of government and the Department of Defense (DoD).

Deborah has deep expertise in strategic planning, risk management, public policy, cyber security, space, logistics, and innovation.  Deborah is a proficient speaker on business and government topics, including issues in national security and world affairs, politics in Washington, business transformation leadership, mergers and acquisitions, cost reduction strategies, and diversity and inclusion.

She is an accomplished keynote speaker and enjoys working one-on-one as an Executive Mentor with C-suite level professionals, sharing her expertise and providing advice on team building, organizational change management, partnering with the Federal Government, and transformational technology.  Deborah is the author of the new book, Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success and periodically appears on MSNBC, CBS, and other national news programs.  Finally, Deborah serves on various for-profit and non-profit boards of directors.  Deborah became the Chair of the Defense Business Board upon her appointment in 2021.

Previous Experience

• 23^rd Secretary of the United States Air Force
• SAIC, President, Technical and Engineering Sector
• SAIC, Executive Vice President, Communications and Government Affairs
• SAIC, General Manager, Command and Control Business Unit
• Business Executives for National Security (BENS), Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
• Vice President, United Technologies, International Operations, and Marketing
• Assistant Secretary of Defense, Reserve Affairs, DoD
• Armed Services Committee, U.S. House of Representatives

Education

• Columbia University, School of International & Public Affairs - MIA, International Affairs
• Duke University - AB, Comparative Area Studies

Today’s Affiliations

• Member, Board of Directors: Textron, Unisys, Noblis, Systems & Technology Research, Atlantic Council, PenFed Foundation
• Advisor: Beacon Global Strategies LLC, Leanln.org, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory, Ursa Major Tech, SOSi
• Executive Mentor, ExCO Leadership
• Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies