Accelerating Innovation With Smarter Public-Private Partnerships

Dr. Dan Patt is Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and serves on the advisory board at the Andy W. Marshall Foundation. He is Executive Partner to THL Partners for growth investments and is also CSO for STR. Previously, Dan was CEO of Vecna Robotics, a commercial venture-backed warehouse robotics and workflow orchestration company. He served as deputy director for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Strategic Technology Office (STO), led investments in operationalized AI, networking, and radiofrequency technologies, launched the Mosaic initiative, and ran the Modernization initiative associated with the 2018 National Defense Strategy. He is a robotics and drone controls engineer by training and has participated in the development and flight test of five drone aircraft. His interests lie at the intersection of technology and society, understanding and shaping how technology is shaping productivity, security, and wellbeing.

Mark Valentine is the Head of Federal for Scale AI where he focuses on delivering advanced AI technologies to customers across the US Federal Government. Prior to joining Scale in 2021 he led Microsoft’s National Security Team and concentrated on delivering advanced technologies from cloud computing to mixed reality to warfighters and analysts across the US Military and Intelligence Community. Prior to his time in industry he served in the US Air Force for over 25-years as a fighter pilot, commander, and staff officer at Headquarters US Air Force and the Joint Staff. Mr. Valentine holds a Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a Master of Arts in International Security Policy from Georgetown University. Additionally, he attended the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business as a Secretary of Defense Fellow. He is also a graduate of the US Air Force Weapons School, NATO Tactical Leadership Program, the National Emergency Management Executive Academy (joint program of the Emergency Management Institute and Harvard University) and the Foreign Service Institute’s National Security Executive Leadership Seminar. He lives near Annapolis, Maryland with his wife and two children where he is active in AFCEA, the American Legion Boys State program and several non-profit boards.