Ben is an organizational architect and entrepreneur with a passion for empowering people to reach their full potential. He started his career as an F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot, flying combat missions over Afghanistan and accruing over 360 carrier landings. He was also an F/A-18 Hornet instructor pilot with the United States Marine Corps, where he taught dogfighting and air-to-air tactics.
While in the military, he created and led three organizations to bring a culture of innovation to national security. The first, Disruptive Thinkers, linked creative military officers with entrepreneurial civilians in a unique, experiential educational setting. He was then asked to build the Chief of Naval Operations Rapid Innovation Cell, a task force he led overseen by the highest ranking officer in the Navy. Ben recruited and organized this flat organization of young Navy doers despite little funding and intense institutional resistance. They successfully integrated 3D printers aboard ships for the first time, deployed Google Glass, spearheaded talent management reform efforts, and changed the way the Navy fights against cyber foes.
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Simultaneously, Ben formed the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, a 501c(3) dedicated to creating an enduring culture of innovation within and across national security. Now in it’s fourth year, it is the only unofficial network of national security entrepreneurs, with a membership of over 1000 individuals. Their annual Forum, held in Chicago, has been hailed as “the new incubator of innovative leaders across the national security establishment.”
Currently, Ben is a student at the Stanford Graduate School of Management, where he is an Arbuckle Leadership Fellow. He is married with a young son.