John J Young Jr.

Young’s distinguished career includes his time as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, overseeing $200 billion of U.S. 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.