Ellen Lord

Advisory Board

The Honorable Ellen Lord served as the first Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, leading the Department of Defense’s personnel, policy and processes for acquisition of products and services, lifecycle sustainment and the security and resiliency of the industrial base. Ellen is credited in her government work for driving acquisition reform to recognize major platforms and weapon systems are hardware enabled yet software defined, streamlining processes to more rapidly field commercial technology and incorporating an aggressive cybersecurity posture into acquisition policy.

Ellen combines over 30 years of industry experience with 3 1/2 years in a senior senate confirmed political government position to focus on national and economic security issues for both industry and government.

Prior to her government appointment, Ellen was President and CEO of Textron Systems, a subsidiary of Textron Corporation where she led a broad range of products and services supporting defense, homeland security, aerospace, infrastructure protection, and customers around the world. Ellen serves on the boards of AAR Corporation, Parsons Corporation, LightRidge Solutions and Voyager Space as well as advising a variety of national security focused companies as well as participating in non-profit boards and commissions.