AIS is pleased to announce that Sean O’ Keefe and John J. Young, Jr., have been appointed to the AIS Board of Directors.
“To say that we’re honored to add Sean and John to the AIS Board of Directors would be an understatement,” said Charles Green, Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AIS. “The insight and expertise they will bring to the board will ensure that we continue to steer AIS in the right direction through sound strategic planning and decision making. It’s a true privilege to be working with professionals of this caliber.”
Sean O’Keefe, Former United States Secretary of the Navy
A longtime public administrator, national security, financial management and aerospace industry veteran who has held leadership positions in the U.S. government, higher education and business, Sean O’Keefe has been appointed to the AIS Board of Directors.
On four separate occasions, O’Keefe served as a presidential appointee. He served as 69th Secretary of the Navy for President George H.W. Bush after joining the Administration in 1989 as Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer of the Defense Department. He later served as 10th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) following a year on the White House staff as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Deputy Assistant to the President in 2001 in the George W. Bush Administration.
In October 2009, the European Aerospace Defense and Space (EADS) corporation named O’Keefe as CEO of the North America subsidiary, and later as the unit’s Chairman of the Board which was renamed Airbus Group in 2011. Prior to joining Airbus, O’Keefe was the 7th Chancellor of Louisiana State University, and previously, a Vice President of General Electric.
Currently, O’Keefe is a University Professor at Syracuse University, only the 17th person in Syracuse University history to hold the senior faculty title. He is also the Howard & Louise Phanstiel Chair in Leadership as a faculty member of the Syracuse Maxwell School’s Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, and a Distinguished Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC.
O’Keefe is the recipient of the Defense Department’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the Department of Navy’s Public Service Award and has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from five higher education institutions. On three occasions, Irish American Magazine designated O’Keefe as among the Top 100 Irish Americans. He began his career in the first class of Presidential Management Interns in 1978, as a Navy budget analyst, and on the staff of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee before service at the Pentagon a decade later.
O’Keefe is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and serves on the board of directors of the Partnership for Public Service. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana and master’s degree from the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
“I had heard about AIS by virtue of the cybersecurity space and how well regarded the company is within government and commercial circuits,” said O’Keefe. “I’ve had the privilege to have served and led large organizations in both the public and private sectors, which has given me a unique appreciation for the work AIS does and its significance for our nation. Cybersecurity is evolving constantly, and the proficiency of adversaries is growing as they learn more and more how to distort capabilities that we depend upon. AIS technologies are helping to ensure we’re staying ahead of these threats, which are infiltrating every industry. I am very honored to have even been considered to join the AIS Board of Directors and I’m eager to learn more about how I can contribute to the great work they’re doing.”
John J. Young Jr., Former United States Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
John J. Young Jr. has been appointed to the AIS Board of Directors. Young’s distinguished career includes his time as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, overseeing $200 billion of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) research, development, procurement and logistics programs. He has served as the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) and as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition.
Young’s experience also includes 10 years as a senior staff member with the U.S. Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Young is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. During his Pentagon tenure, he was awarded the DoD, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Army Distinguished Civilian Service Awards as well as the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award.
Young currently serves as Founder and Principal at JY Strategies, LLC, where he provides strategic insight to companies on business development strategies, congressional relations and program management and formulation.
Young serves on various boards including Saab Defense USA, SRI International, Ultra Electronics, Tenax Aerospace, Satelles and the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He serves on the advisory board of Georgia Tech Research Institute and Stevens Institute of Technology Acquisition Innovation Research Center, and he is a Senior Fellow and a member of the Board of Regents of the Potomac Institute. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia and a master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University in Stanford, California.
“During my Pentagon tenure, I visited Rome Lab,” said Young. “Though it was many years ago, I remember the day because I saw some amazing capabilities in development, things that we needed for activities in Iraq and Afghanistan right then and there. Early AIS team members were the technical talent behind those very special capabilities that I saw. Joining the board was an easy decision, since I have seen firsthand what AIS can do. I have a unique background with both Capitol Hill and Pentagon experience – about 10 years of congressional experience and eight years of executive branch experience on defense R&D and procurement programs. I feel confident I can help AIS navigate the Pentagon and the Hill and collaborate with other defense industry partners. The United States desperately needs the offensive and defensive cyber capabilities developed and envisioned by AIS to regain the high ground in cyber warfare. I want to thank AIS employees for tackling these tough issues and I’m looking forward to learning more about the team and AIS technologies.”
