Sam Gray

Executive Director Emeritus

Sam currently serves as the Vice President of Strategic Engagements at Second Front Systems, a venture-backed public benefit platform-as-a-service company dedicated to empowering defense and national security professionals through the secure and rapid deployment of commercial software.

In addition to this role, Sam is a board member and former Executive Director of the Silicon Valley Defense Group, a nonprofit organization that fosters connections among technology, national security, and investors. Furthermore, Sam is a venture partner at Franklin Templeton, focusing on growth and late-stage investments in dual-use industrial technology.

With a distinguished military career spanning over 20 years, Sam brings extensive experience in operations, strategy, and acquisitions. He co-founded NavalX, the innovation office for the Navy and Marine Corps, expanding its presence across the US and UK. Sam has also overseen aerospace procurement for the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and served as a crisis planner at Pacific Command, specializing in China. As a career fighter pilot, he completed seven deployments, including missions in the Pacific and Middle East, and commanded VFA-115, an F/A-18 squadron based in Japan from 2017 to 2018.

Sam holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from The Ohio State University and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College. He was also a member of the 2019 cohort of Stanford Ignite.