Silicon Valley Defense Group Welcomes James “Hondo” Geurts, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition, to their Advisory Board
September 29, 2021
Washington, DC- Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG) today announced that James “Hondo'' Geurts will join its Advisory Board. This is the first position Geurts has announced since he retired from government service in August of 2021. Geurts brings over 34 years of extensive leadership and acquisition experience in the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the United States Air Force.
Mr. Geurts, known to most as Hondo, most recently performed the duties of Under Secretary of the Navy, a position he was appointed to on February 4, 2021. In this role he served as the Department of the Navy’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Management Officer. He previously served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition from 2017-2021. As the Navy’s acquisition executive, he oversaw an annual budget of $148 billion consisting of research, development, acquisition, production, contracting and sustainment for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines Corps, and Allies and Partners.
“Ensuring we develop and grow the agile and resilient industrial base our Nation and our allies need to be successful for the decades ahead has been a key area of focus for me throughout my career. The SVDG has quickly gained a reputation for being a central convening force within the defense community to bring together all elements needed to create and grow the National Security Industrial Base of the future,” said Mr. Geurts. “I am excited to join the SVDG team as the organization continues to bridge the gap between the Department of Defense and the technology community.”
Prior to his Naval Service, Mr. Geurts had over three decades of experience with USSOCOM and the United States Air Force, where he served in all levels of acquisition leadership positions including Acquisition Executive, Program Executive Officer, Program Manager of Major Defense Acquisition Programs, and Chief Engineer.
“No one is better than Hondo Geurts at knowing the system and knowing how to make it better,” said former U.S. Representative William M. “Mac” Thornberry (R-Texas) who is a current SVDG Advisory Board member. “At both SOCOM and the Navy he has been an innovator and leader in getting the best technology into the hands of the warfighters faster. He brings an insider's knowledge with an outsider's push for getting results.”
“Hondo brings a wealth of experience and knows the innovation challenges faced by the DoD firsthand,” said SVDG Executive Director Sam Gray. “There really is no other recent DoD official that has worked across the complete spectrum from tactic practitioner to service acquisition executive while also having a major impact on the innovation ecosystem by founding impactful organizations such SOFWERX and NavalX. We are excited to have him join us as we continue to bring together the elements which will unlock the sources of innovation and ensure a techno-security advantage for the US and allied democracies”
About SVDG: The Silicon Valley Defense Group (SVDG) is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit that seeks to create the nexus of pioneering ideas, people, and capital that will unlock new sources of innovation for national security and power the digital evolution of the defense industrial base. Convened first as an informal working group in 2015, SVDG began after Senator John McCain sought help from leaders in tech and finance to improve relations between the technology and investment communities and national security practitioners.
