Doug Beck
Director, Defense Innovation Unit
Doug Beck earned an undergraduate degree from Yale University and an M.Phil. from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.
He has 27 years of service in the Navy, currently a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan with a joint special operations task force in 2006-2007 and spent a significant period of service in the Indo-Pacific.
He was a partner at McKinsey & Company and later became an executive for Charles Schwab. His last position before joining the Defense Innovation Unit was as a vice president at Apple.
He became director of the Defense Innovation Unit in May 2023.
In the News…
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) announced the expansion of commercial drones certified to be used by the military. The 37 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and components added by the unit are pending final approval that ensures they meet the cybersecurity and supply chain standards mandated by Congress.
As small commercial drones have been increasingly used in the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the DUI stated, “Advocacy for many of these new and enabling technologies continues to be critical for getting capabilities to the warfighter.”
The unit continued, “With the cycle for development of new capabilities in this space approaching three months, and current DOD timelines and processes for drone delivery lagging warfighter needs by multiple years, providing warfighters access to capabilities they need now through the Blue List and Framework is even more important.”
The list includes drones manufactured in Ukraine.
