Join us as we unite industry leaders for a cutting-edge event exploring the future of defense technology and innovation.
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February 17, 2026Â | 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
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Evening reception to follow from 5:30 – 8:00 PM ADDRESS TO BE PROVIDED UPON CONFIRMATION
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Speakers
Dave Levy
Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector
Amazon Web Services Â
Stephen Ross
Chairman and CEO
Related Ross
Daniel Diermeier
Chancellor
Vanderbilt UniversityÂ
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Omeed Malik
President
1789
Emil Michael
Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering
United States Department of War
Krish Roy
Dean
Vanderbilt University
Paras Malik
Chief AI Officer & Counselor to the Secretary
U.S. Department of the Treasury
General Paul Nakasone (Ret.)
Founding Director, Institute of National Security
Vanderbilt University
Admiral Christopher Grady (Ret.)
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff
United States Navy
Rishi Bhaskar
Worldwide Public Sector Partnership Lead
Amazon Web Services
Tom Keane
Senior Vice President of Engineering & Head of Connected Warfare Division
Anduril Industries
Katrina Mulligan
Head of National Security Partnerships
OpenAI
Dave Limp
CEO
Blue Origin
Liz Martin
Head of Global Defense
Amazon Web Services
Will Edwards
CEO
Firehawk
Gilman Louie
Co - Founder
America's Frontier Fund
David Vigneault
Managing Director
Strider Technologies
Ian Aaron
CEO
Ubicquia
Michael Greenwald
Global Head, Executive Relations and Financial Innovation
Amazon Web ServicesÂ
Jordan Bargas
Executive Vice President, Development
Related Ross
Christina Alfonso
Executive Director and President
Council on Global Competition and Innovation
Jennifer Prosek
Founder and Managing Partner
Prosek Partners
Jacob Helberg
Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
United States Department of State
 Julian Barnes
National Security Reporter
New York Times
Michael Brasseur
Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
Saab, Inc.
Kevin Kassekert
CEO
Vulcan Forms
Horacio Rozanski
Chairman and CEO
Booz Allen
Suzanne Kelly
CEO and Publisher
The Cipher Brief
Annmarie Hordern
Chief Political Correspondent
Bloomberg
Jim DeMare
Co - President
Bank of America
Jack Hidary
CEO
SandboxAQ
Eric Brock
CEO
Ondas Holdings
The Honorable Kirsten Davies
Chief Information Officer
Department of War
David R. Fitzgerald
Deputy Under Secretary of the Army
United States Department of the Army
Keith Johnson
Director, Global Defense Solutions Architecture
Amazon Web Services
David Appel
Vice President for Global Government
Amazon Web Services
Ethan Klein
U.S. Chief Technology Officer
The White House
Rick Scott
U.S. Senator
Shon ManascoÂ
International Defense Lead
Palantir
Philip Bilden
Managing Partner & Founder
Shield Capital
Jeff Anderson
Head of Autonomy for Global Defense
Amazon Web Services
Moderators
Michael Greenwald
Blair Doster
Blair Doster will be speaking about their experience as an art director and organizer of design events.
Simone Andrews
Simone Andrews will be speaking about their experience as a film producer.
What to expect
An event like you've never seen before.
Leverage agile frameworks to provide a robust synopsis for high level overviews. Iterative approaches to corporate strategy foster collaborative thinking to further the overall value proposition. Organically grow the holistic world view of disruptive innovation via workplace diversity and empowerment.
Breakfast to be provided in the Hospitality Lounge
9:30 AM – 9:45 AM
WELCOMING REMARKS
Michael Greenwald, Head of Global Executive Relations, Amazon Web ServicesÂ
Stephen Ross, Chairman and CEO, Related Ross Daniel Diermeier, Chancellor, Vanderbilt University Dave Levy, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services
9:45 AM – 10:20 AM
ENGINEERING THE FUTURE OF DEFENSE
Omeed Malik, Co-Founder and President, 1789 Capital Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Dave Levy, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services
10:25 AM – 10:50 AMÂ
FIRESIDE CHAT: CONNECTED WARFARE
Suzanne Kelly, CEO and Publisher, The Cipher Brief
Tom Keane, SVP of Engineering and Head of the Connected Warfare Division, Anduril
10:50 AM – 11:15 AM
FIRESIDE CHAT: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN DEFENSE
Liz Martin, Head of Global Defense, AWS
The Honorable Kirsten Davies, Chief Information Officer, Department of War
11:15 AM – 11:40 AM
PANEL: REFLECTIONS FROM THE FRONTLINES
Julian E. Barnes, U.S. Intelligence Agencies and International Security Reporter, The New York Times General Paul Nakasone (Ret.) Founding Director of Vanderbilt University’s Institute of National Security Admiral Christopher Grady (Ret.) Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
11:40 AM – 12:00 PM
FIRESIDE CHAT: ARMING THE FUTURE WARFIGHTER
Jennifer Prosek, Founder, Prosek Partners Horacio Rozanski, Chairman and CEO, Booz Allen
12:00 PM – 1:00 PMÂ
LUNCH
The Norton Museum of Art's Great Lawn
AFTERNOON
1:00 PM – 1:30 PMÂ
PANEL: SECURING THE INNOVATION PIPELINE
Krish Roy, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering, Vanderbilt University Gilman Louie, Co-Founder, America's Frontier Fund David Vigneault, Managing Director, Strider Technologies Ian Aaron, CEO, Ubicquia
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM
THE NEW DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE FOR GLOBAL COMPETITION
Rishi Bhaskar, Worldwide Public Sector Partnership Lead, Amazon Web Services
Shon Manasco, International Defense Lead, Palantir Katrina Mulligan, Head of National Security Partnerships, OpenAI
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
FIRESIDE CHAT: INNOVATION BEYOND EARTH
Annmarie Hordern, Chief Political Correspondent, Bloomberg
Dave Limp, CEO, Blue Origin
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
FIRESIDE CHAT: MODERNIZING ARMY OPERATIONS
Liz Martin, Head of Global Defense, Amazon Web Services
David R. Fitzgerald, Deputy Under Secretary of the Army (DUSA)
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
PANEL: AI LEADERSHIP & INVESTMENT IN DEFENSE TECH
Michael Greenwald, Head of Global Executive Relations, AWS Paras Malik, Chief AI Officer, U.S. Department of the Treasury Jim DeMare, Co-President, Bank of America Philip Bilden Managing Partner & Founder, Shield Capital
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
PANEL: DEFENSE TECH IN ACTION: FROM INNOVATION TO DEPLOYMENT
Christina Alfonso, President, Council on Global Competition and Innovation (CGCI) Will Edwards, CEO, Firehawk Kevin Kassekert, CEO, Vulcan Forms Michael Brasseur, Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Saab, Inc
4:00 PM - 4:20 PM
FIRESIDE CHAT: ARCHITECTING AMERICAN AI DOMINANCE
David Appel, VP for Global Government, AWS The Honorable Ethan Klein, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, The White House
4:20 PM - 4:40 PM
FIRESIDE CHAT: ECONOMIC POWER = POWER
Annmarie Hordern, Chief Political Correspondent, Bloomberg Television The Honorable Jacob Helberg, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
