Dr. David Bray

LDA Ventures: CEO & Principal for LeadDoAdapt Ventures focused on incubating new tech efforts, providing strategic action for Boards and directing orgs navigating data, bio, AI, quantum, & global turbulence, 2021-present. Deliver leadership, executive consulting, foresight, agility, AI expertise, resilient tech & business development, and focused performance needed for global scales. Co-founder & CEO for planned $1B stealth space, air, and AI data co focused on regional insights for secure infrastructure (2022-present). Strategy & board roles with Swan Island Networks (2004-05), Sermo (2007-08), Beacon Global Strategies (2018-20), Hu-manity (2018-20), Unibap AB (2018-2022), Virtru (2019-2025), ElevateU.work (2019-), AI co (2019-), quantum materials co (2020-), stealth space sat co (2020-), stealth biomedical co (2021-). Advisor to Guardians.AI counter-disinfo in 2018. Chief Strategy Officer for MapLarge.com (2018-20) & Board Chair for pro-privacy collaboration platform (2020-) including successful exits. Investor in fintech & biotech startups. 2025: Invited expert witness to Congress for public hearing on AI.

• Achieved portfolio company growth upwards of 350% by implementing strategic plans and streamlining operations.
• Led partnerships and and grew strategic business relationships 10x by negotiating contract terms, handling conflicts, and ensuring delivery of outstanding results on-time, every time.
• Established foundational processes for successful P&L tied to business operations that saw doubling of profitable growth within the first 18 months.

Stimson: Named a Distinguished Fellow with bipartisan Stimson Center focused on data, AI, tech, and global impact, 2021-present; Co-Chair (starting 2021) and now Chair of the Accelerator, Loomis Council (2024-present). Keynoter to U.S. Space Force, Air Force, Harvard Medical, NASA; Distinguished Fellow to Business Executives in Nat'l Security & industry advisor to two banks & State Dept 2021-present.

Atlantic Council: Executive Director for successful bipartisan Commission on the Geopolitical Impacts of New Technologies and Data: www.atlanticcouncil.org/geotechreport achieved endorsements by two U.S. Senators and two U.S. Reps plus industry accolades in Europe, Australia, & Asia. Report hand-delivered to both the U.S. President and Speaker of the House in 2021. Commission completed in 2021, transitioned to Distinguished Fellow role with AC for 2021 & 2022.

• Fostered results-oriented relationships with stakeholders, promoting successful collaborations and incubating new partnership opportunities.
• Planned and oversaw successful convenings, events, and meetings in accordance with planned outcomes, policies, and deliverables.

WEF: Named top "24 Americans Who Are Changing the World" by Business Insider & a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Invited 5x Speaker at Davos in 2024. Invited to join WEF's Global Future Councils starting in 2020 as a leading executive expert in data, tech, biotech, AI, & space. Also invited to advise Forbes and join The Explorer's Club as a fellow member reserved for distinguished experts directly contributing to scientific knowledge. Invited to film address to ASU's counter-disinformation workshop in 2019 & present on countering 'polarizing social wedges' in open societies before Dept of Defense in 2018. Invited panelist & speaker at launch of WEF's Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Fran in 2017.

Keynotes: Invited keynoter to Fortune 500s, NATO, UN, SxSW. Forbes, TEDx events and several global forums on leading change in turbulent environments. Keynoted to CEOs, EVPs, & Senior-level audiences in India, Denmark, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Belgium, & Vietnam. Gave public & private executive keynotes to banks, businesses, and tech companies at multiple international events. Multiple surveys ranked as a gifted communicator & “most engaging keynotes” by attendees. Advisor to & regular guest on CxOTalk.com live interviews with Fortune 500 and C-Suite executive starting in 2014. Invited keynoter at international events and Consumer Electronics Show, “Suits and Spooks", & innovation events; emcee for “Next Gen Public Service Awards” for multiple years. Invited to give 2019 United Nations Keynote on future of AI, IoT & tech.

Executive Boards: Elected to Board of Directors for the Senior Executives Association (SEA), also named lifetime member in 2011. Named to serve on NSquare Board tackling nuclear challenges (2018-present) & fulfilled two terms to non-profit National Leadership Council of Society for Science and the Public (2015-2023). Named to Board of AAAS-Lemelson Invention Ambassadors in 2018; ATARC's Industry Advisory Board in 2021.

Leader: Recognized as an Industry Genius & "Global Executive Who Matters" by HMG Strategy (2023-present); "Leader Who Cares" by 5th Element focused on leading data, AI, and org transformations. Named Expert with MIT Horizon in 2024; Visiting Executive Coach at Harvard in 2015. Guest lecturer at global executive events with MIT, Harvard, CMU, GMU, Georgetown, & Univ. of Oxford on tech leadership since 2007-present. Selected as a Marshall Memorial Fellow for 2017-18 to Europe on issues of Trans-Atlantic concern. Selected as Eisenhower Fellow to Taiwan & Australia in 2015 on strategies for IoT and AI. Expert advisor to United Nations & Five-Time Invited Speaker at Davos-WEF.

MIT & Harvard: Executive Keynoter at MIT on AI+Disruption & at Harvard on Org Decision Making in an Exponential Era & "Change Agents in Exponential Times" to Harvard ExecEd participants with Leadership in a Networked World Program. One of few paid guest lecturers at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government to C-level executives for "21st Leadership Decision Making" course in partnership w/ Dr. Jennifer Lerner starting in 2015. Invited to give keynote at Harvard University & Nat'l Assoc. of State Chief Administrators. Advisor to Forbes Ignite & NDIA Special Ops starting in 2018. Co-authored major research study that warned of countering disinformation in public service and crises in 2020 due to erosion of USG workforce & autonomy of non-partisan Senior Executives with former Chair of the National Intelligence Council in 2018-2019.

Humans & Machines: Executive keynoter & Senior Fellow at Institute for Human-Machine Cognition focused on more people-centered AI, 2018-present. Named to Social Data Science Board at Oxford in 2018. Worked with subset of Marshall Memorial Fellows to organize 1st-ever participatory, cyber-crisis executive exercises at GLOBSEC in 2019. Named adjunct Faculty Member at Singularity University (2017-present), CMU, & GMU for expertise in Disruption, Leadership, and Global Impact.

CFR: Named a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in 2014 focused on international issues intersecting with disruptive technologies and socioeconomic impacts. Served as a senior consultant to multiple groups on how technology impacts communities and societies invited visiting associate and speaker on “Creating a Cybersecurity Commons” at the University of Oxford’s Global Cyber Capacity Centre starting in 2013. Graduation speaker on “New Opportunities and New Challenges” at Emory University. Organizer of regular informal, non-attribution brainstorm sessions of “big thinkers” on how globally to advance public safety, security, freedoms, & prosperity from 2010-the start of COVID-19.

DoD: Senior consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense starting in 2018, focused primarily on increasing overall adaptability of military services, strategic partnerships, business planning, and risk management for potential 'bad day' scenarios for the Navy & Marines, also advised Air Force, Army, and U.S. Special Operations. Mentored, coached, emceed annual events for Young Government Leaders & NextGenGovt.com for 7+ years. Awarded Next Gen Public Service Leadership award in 2016 and prestigious Arthur S. Flemming award for leadership.

Human Rights: Worked with international standards development orgs on data sharing, protection, and interoperability standards starting in 2010. Invited to Co-Chair an IEEE Committee focused on Artificial Intelligence, automated systems, & innovative policies globally for 2016-2017. Invited to join startup efforts of Hu-manity.org and champion data freedom of choice as Chief Philanthropy Officer and Senior Fellow. Directed social impact and outreach efforts of movement to create more equitable, pluralistic, data societies in which all of us have Choice and Continuous Consent regarding our data. Keynoter at an MIT Summit; gave public address to data scientists on how they can play a role as positive “change agents” to help improve our world.

PCI: Accepted an invitation from co-creator of TCP/IP, Vint Cerf, to become Executive Director for the People Centered Internet coalition, coordinated strategic partnerships & program management with World Bank and IEEE to provide support, expertise, and potential funding for demonstration projects that measurably improve people's lives using the Internet. Invited to Co- Chair AI Governance, Big Data, and Ethics Summit in D.C. in 2019. PCI projects included connectivity for underserved populations, healthcare, disaster response, education, counter-disinformation, and entrepreneurship. Led meaningful innovation in challenging, thorny human and technical environments by offering to be non- partisan "human flak jacket" and take any friction for teams willing to think and act outside the box to deliver results differently and better.

Atlantic Council: Invited in late 2019 to become Founder and Inaugural Senior Director for a new global GeoTech Commission & Center launched successfully despite pandemic. Led GeoTech Commission & Center's bipartisan vision scaling from concept to $3 million by 2021 in revenue as a non-profit amid COVID-19. Oversaw strategic partnerships, business planning, and financial execution focused on producing 50+ live GeoTech Hours. Collaborated on 12-month study on AI & China in Jan 2021 & report of SolarWinds-related exploits in Mar 2021. Hosted several “tech for good” events & analyses of tech and geopolitical trends, including AgriTechAction in Nov 2020 and a new conference with the Embassy of Finland on “data for good”. Assembled a global network of Senior Fellows & Action Council members committed to illuminating for world leaders how new tech and data can benefit people, prosperity, and peace. Outside AC Senior Director role, also served on multiple Boards of Directors involving data, bio, commercial space, disruptive tech & counter-disinformation efforts. Won a $1.35m State Dept award to train leaders around the world on AI & geopolitics.

FCC: Named top "24 Americans Who Are Changing the World" by Business Insider in 2016. Parachuted into role to turn FCC's IT efforts around across 18 different Bureaus and Offices. Led direction & recruitment of interdisciplinary teams in a challenging environment. Transformed FCC’s legacy IT with 207+ systems to award-winning solutions in less than two years; led change in 1/2 the time at 1/6 the cost and saving millions of dollars. Oversaw successful “Operation Server Lift” which moved all remaining FCC systems to commercial solutions, reducing future O&M costs from 85%+ to less than 50% of the annual budget. Awarded Fed100 Award, AFFIRM's Leadership Award in Cloud Computing, and Armed Forces (AFCEA) Outstanding Achievement Award. Championed teamwork, product development, & social media marketing of 1st-ever voluntary, citizen-led U.S. mobile “crowdsourcing” of broadband speed testing; achieved 1st-ever public service app to achieve a rank of #4 on the iOS store next to Google Chrome. Led team that kept system up 99.4% despite 23+ million comments (18m were less than authentic) alongside disinformation attack in 2017. Awarded Global CIO 100 awards twice – which typically go to Fortune 500 companies – making FCC the only public-sector organization to receive global recognition twice in such a brief time, exemplifying power of championing positive "change agents" in turbulent environments.

SECDEF: Requested by Department of Defense to assist in 2015-2016 on high-priority items for DoD outside of FCC work. Assembled an "X-Cell" of highly skilled individuals from across government willing to work weekends and nights (outside of day jobs) to address these items for SECDEF and successfully fixed an effort that had faced large org challenges. Invited VIP for DARPA Robotics Competition in 2015. Presented before Congress and Congressionally appointed Commissioners; briefed & consulted on strategy for multiple Administrations. Awarded AFFIRM's Executive Leadership in 2016.

ODNI: Invited to lead as Principal Strategist and Executive Director with the National Commission for the Review of Research and Development (R&D) Programs of the U.S. Intelligence Community in early 2012; brokered Commission interactions with Congress, the White House, and across twelve Congressionally appointed bipartisan Commissioners and across the Executive Branch. Led teams recommending new efforts and reviewing future science and technology plans of the entire IC and its unclassified multibillion budget, to include the CIA, NSA, FBI, National Laboratories, IARPA, DARPA, and In-Q-Tel. Met with the heads of the IC agencies to solicit their future R&D and technology needs; topics included cybersecurity, counter-nuclear R&D, future breakthroughs in algorithms, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. Received the National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2013 and directed an interagency team receiving the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation for advancing foresight for the IC.

ISE: Chaired initial White House subcommittee efforts to improve relations among the information integration, network interoperability, and civil liberties activities of the U.S. government from 2010-2012. Pioneered, directed, and led responsible information sharing efforts across defense, intel, law enforcement, security, and diplomatic communities internationally as part of the Information Sharing Environment (ISE). Received "Best Cyber Presentation" with the DHHS Deputy CIO, emphasizing the need to advance shared services that protect civil liberties, individual privacy, public safety, and our national security in 2010. Keynoted and presented before 100+ different USG and international agencies; received public commendation for leadership in a report by Intelligence and National Security Alliance in 2011. Awarded the Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership for the entire federal gov't as one of youngest senior execs for the honor.

NDU: Served as a Visiting Associate of practice and guest lecturer at the National Defense University (NDU) starting in 2009 on networked leadership, data science, artificial intelligence, crisis response, and disruptive emerging technologies. Provided multiple guest lectures to classes on transformational leadership, cybersecurity, emerging technologies, leading change in difficult environments, and emergency response to crises and bioterrorism. Earlier from 2001-2004 completed multiple certifications while full-time USG employee to include: Transformational Leadership, Emergency Management, Enterprise Planning, IT Security, Program Stewardship, certified Project Management, and certified Project Lifecycle Development.

DOE: Developed and advised on innovative international, organizational, and technology strategies for U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy and Environmental Security Directorate to test and implement improved: (1) collaborations, business, and big data transformations; (2) crisis response leveraging scientific expertise; (3) transnational tech indicators for enhanced global security coordination efforts with international partners. Collaborated as an expert & senior leader with international security partners on addressing Tech, People, and Transformational issues regarding the future ahead.

IDA: Deployed to Afghanistan voluntarily in 2009 as a Special Advisor to a Brigadier General for 120 days overseeing STRAT EFFECTS for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan; tasked by new Administration to help Generals “think differently” on critical strategies to improve regional military & humanitarian stabilization operations as well as inform future DoD policy and DARPA efforts. Awarded NATO Service Medal in 2009. Awarded DOD’s Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award, highest-ranking joint civilian service award under authority of combatant commanders, in 2010. Invited panelist at U.K.-U.S. closed discussions on “Measuring and Mapping Cybercrime.” Invited expert with both IARPA's Security & Privacy Assurance Research and Aggregative Contingent Estimation pioneer efforts. Served as Visiting Associate faculty, parallel with full-time work, at the National Defense University starting in 2009. Invited expert with NSF and NSA’s “Science of Security” endeavor in 2009, focusing on transformative cybersecurity research and alternative models of cyber-related behaviors.

STPI: Served and led as a strategist with the Science & Technology Policy Institute (STPI) to POTUS, VPOTUS, DOD, ODNI, NSF, DOE, and national security reps on issues to include global crisis response, counter-terrorism, advanced cyberthreats, & continuity of operations. Led multi-team efforts spanning multiple scientific subjects, often under tight timelines akin to management consulting for policy. Authored and brief non-partisan policy assessments & strategic recommendations for Executive Office of the President. Produced analytic recommendations for President’s Council of Advisors on Science & Tech; presented successful findings to White House leadership, military Generals, and U.N. reps; strategy & operations management research recognized as part of McKinsey's “Top Ten Business Trends to Watch.” Awarded an IBM Center for the Business of Gov’t Grant in 2010.

NDU: Served as a Visiting Associate of practice and guest lecturer at the National Defense University (NDU) starting in 2009 on networked leadership, data science, artificial intelligence, crisis response, and disruptive emerging technologies. Provided multiple guest lectures to classes on transformational leadership, cybersecurity, emerging technologies, leading change in difficult environments, and emergency response to crises and bioterrorism. Earlier from 2001-2004 completed multiple certifications while full-time USG employee to include: Transformational Leadership, Emergency Management, Enterprise Planning, IT Security, Program Stewardship, certified Project Management, and certified Project Lifecycle Development.

DOE: Developed and advised on innovative international, organizational, and technology strategies for U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy and Environmental Security Directorate to test and implement improved: (1) collaborations, business, and big data transformations; (2) crisis response leveraging scientific expertise; (3) transnational tech indicators for enhanced global security coordination efforts with international partners. Collaborated as an expert & senior leader with international security partners on addressing Tech, People, and Transformational issues regarding the future ahead.

Harvard, MIT, & Sermo: Post-doc to both Harvard KSG and MIT. Worked on Leadership in a Networked World at Harvard and Collective Intelligence at MIT. Spoke, wrote, & worked on Leadership in a Networked World at Harvard simultaneous to work and evaluation of novel approaches to Collective Intelligence involving both humans and machines at MIT. Advised Sermo.com as startup organization on mid- and long-term strategies for an online, knowledge ecosystem of 70,000+ physicians resulting in improved: (1) medical situational awareness leveraging large-scale Internet and human-centered design; (2) peer-to-peer healthcare innovations & information sharing related to U.S. healthcare; (3) business analysis & enhanced decision making across U.S. health providers. Authored case studies regarding startup company’s approach to knowledge brokering and information arbitrage among a community of U.S. physicians, including how the knowledge platform increased engagement, customer satisfaction, and new business development of novel therapeutics and medical techniques.

CDC: Pioneered organizational and technology strategies for BioPHusion pilot at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). to test and implement improved: (1) inter-organizational IT-enabled collaborations and business transformation within the agency; (2) biothreat situational awareness, intelligence assessments, and decision-making; (3) enhanced global public health coordination efforts with public-private partners and global scientific experts. Led a comprehensive agency-wide assessment of the technological, social, and business processes influencing the performance outcomes of knowledge exchanges in the agency and with the CDC’s partners from 2005-2008.

BPRP: Led CDC’s Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Program’s (BPRP) technology response to 9/11, anthrax, West Nile, SARS, monkeypox, ricin, and other international emergencies; received Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award in 2002 for anthrax response the year prior; nominated as Federal Employee of the Year for the National Center for Infectious Disease at CDC and shared similar award for SARS and monkeypox response in 2004. Directed advanced “SWAT” team of 21+ technology professionals focused on technology efforts for BT response starting in 2000 with subsequent promotions. Pioneered the U.S.’s electronic mechanisms for lab reporting via the international Laboratory Response Network for Bioterrorism with CDC and DoD; named an Innovations in American Government finalist in 2005.

DHAP: Directed informatics strategy across 10 different branches with a total $650M+ budget and 600+ personnel in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) at the CDC when promoted in 2004; led national informatics initiatives, international outreach, and enterprise change strategies; directed senior staff on organizational transformation, business integration, knowledge management, and innovative S&T endeavors. Oversaw division’s technology assets, capital planning, and OMB submissions for multimillion-dollar efforts; brokered new collaborations aided by technology across with the 50 states and internationally; monitored the progress of 220+ different enterprise application efforts.