/
Pentagon to Establish New Office to Oversee JADC2 Integration Efforts
Published on
Pentagon to Establish New Office to Oversee JADC2 Integration Efforts

The Department of Defense has announced a new office responsible for aligning the efforts of the Navy, Army and Air Force to enable multidomain warfighting capabilities, DefenseNews reported Wednesday.

The acquisition, integration and interoperability office will operate under the Office of the Secretary of Defense and work to ensure that the services’ contributions to the Joint All Domain Command and Control initiative work across air, sea, land, space and cyber domains.

Chris O’Donnell, deputy assistant secretary of defense for platform and weapon portfolio management, said the office will look at how to fully integrate the multibillion-dollar effort across the department and work toward achieving “more jointness” among the services.

“I would never say the services are too siloed in their approach. The services are doing exactly what they need to support service needs,” O’Donnell said.

The Army supports the JADC2 effort through its Project Convergence networking and technology experiment, while the Air Force has the Advanced Battle Management System and the Navy has Project Overmatch.

/
Navy, Army Conduct Hypersonic Weapon Flight Campaign
Published on
Navy, Army Conduct Hypersonic Weapon Flight Campaign

The U.S. Navy and Army have launched a precision-sounding rocket to test various experiments to guide the development of next-generation offensive and defensive hypersonic weapon systems.

Sandia National Laboratories conducted the flight campaign at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to inform the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike and the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon programs, the Navy said Wednesday.

Data collected from the test will guide the development of a Navy-designed common hypersonic missile that both services will use alongside individual weapon systems and sea and land-based launchers.

The sounding rocket contained hypersonic experiments and prototypes from several defense contractors and partners including Mitre, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The U.S. military use sounding rockets to speed up the maturation of weapon technologies before going through the final design stage.

The Missile Defense Agency also participated in the flight campaign to gather data for its weapon development program to counter hypersonic missile threats.

Moderna Inc. Leaders and Executives: Who Are They?
Published on
Moderna Inc. Leaders and Executives: Who Are They?

Moderna Inc. is best known for developing the COVID-19 vaccine. The company has extensive mRNA solutions, which it uses in its 46 products in the pipeline and 36 products in ongoing clinical trials. Learn more about Moderna Inc. leaders and executives right here.

About Moderna Inc.

About Moderna Inc.

Moderna is a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with a big focus on harnessing the power of mRNA. The company has scored a total of $2.48 billion in federal agency funding research for developing COVID-19 vaccines and securing doses for the government. Moderna Inc. has played a transformative role in the medical world amid the pandemic.

History of Moderna Inc.

Messenger RNA is a big part of Moderna’s history. Since its founding in 2010, the company has used the technology to develop vaccines for influenza, HIV, respiratory syncytial virus, chikungunya, and more. Check the breakthroughs of Moderna Inc. over the past decade.

  • In 2010, Moderna was born by combining the words “modified” and “RNA” to form the word “modern.”
  • In 2014, Moderna expanded in new its headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  • In 2015, Moderna developed the first-in-human dose flu vaccine through mRNA-1440.
  • In 2017, Moderna developed the first-in-human dosing for mRNA-1653, a multivalent vaccine that can cure more than one disease at the same time.
  • In 2019, Moderna’s first antibody encoded by mRNA is in a clinical trial.
  • In 2022, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) fully approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine (SPIKEVAX) for at least 18 years old.

Who are the Founders of Moderna?

Moderna Inc. was founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the company still headquarters today. A team of four founded the company, namely:

  • Robert Langer, a renowned bioengineering professor at MIT and founder of controlled-release drug delivery and tissue engineering fields
  • Derrick Rossi, an assistant professor at the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department of Harvard Medical School and the accredited innovator of the mRNA technology of Moderna
  • Kenneth Chien, an appointee of Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute and Harvard’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department
  • Noubar Afeyan, a venture capitalist who is the sole institutional investor of Moderna, a biochemical engineer, and Chief Executive Officer of Flagship Ventures

Who is the Head of Moderna?

Since October 2011, the head of Moderna is Stéphane Bancel, who serves as the Chief Executive Officer. He leads over 3,000 team members in changing the world of medicine with mRNA. As the head of the company, he oversees and implements the company’s values: bold, relentless, collaborative, and curious.

Who are the Moderna Executives?

Moderna Inc. believes in diversity and inclusion in the workplace.  They encourage and reward employees for their curiosity, collaboration, and agility. Meet the executive team of Moderna Inc.

Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer

Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer

Stéphane Bancel serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Moderna Inc. He’s been a part of the company’s board of directors since March 2011. He oversees all company operations and encourages the use of Mindsets tools to build the best possible version of Modena 20 years down the line.

Before becoming Moderna Inc. CEO, Bancel served as the Chief Executive Officer of bioMérieux SA for five years. He also worked at Eli Lilly and Company as Managing Director of Belgium and Executive Director of Global Manufacturing Strategy and Supply Chain.

Stephen Hoge, M.D., President

Stephen Hoge, M.D., President

Stephen Hoge, M.D., has served as Moderna’s President and Head of Research since 2015. He heads all the company’s research and development initiatives, focusing primarily on basic science, clinical development, regulatory, and therapeutic areas.

Previously, Dr. Hoge worked as the company’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for New Drug Concepts and Oncology from December 2012 to December 2014. Before joining Moderna’s executive team, he worked as a partner at McKinsey & Company.

Paul Burton, M.D., Chief Medical Officer

Paul Burton, M.D., Chief Medical Officer

Paul Burton, M.D., is responsible for Moderna’s medical affairs and safety as the Chief Medical Officer. He has over 20 years of experience in the industry, with board certification in surgery and specialist training in cardiothoracic surgery. He also has a Ph.D. in cardiovascular molecular and cellular biology.

Burton’s previous works before Moderna include Chief Global Medical Affairs Officer, Vice President, Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medical Affairs at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Senior Medical Director at Johnson & Johnson.

Jerh Collins, Ph.D., Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer

Jerh Collins, Ph.D., Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer

Jerh Collins, Ph.D., is responsible for Moderna’s portfolio of technical development, quality, and programs for preclinical, clinical, and commercial supplies as the Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer. He recently joined Moderna’s executive team in October 2022.

Previously, Dr. Collins worked at Novartis for nearly 30 years, where he served as Chief Culture Officer, Head of Global Chemical Operations and Anti-Infectives, and Head of API Manufacturing Pharma. His earlier work was as a chemist at Merck & Co.

Kate Cronin, Chief Brand Officer

Kate Cronin, Chief Brand Officer

Kate Cronin has served as Moderna Inc.’s Chief Brand Officer since July 2021. Her key responsibilities are brand and creative strategy, strategic communications, social media, leadership, and integrated marketing. She has been in charge of Moderna’s branding and introducing the promise of mRNA science technology to the public.

In her tenure at the company, she was named ‘Top 15 People to Watch‘ by PRovoke in 2022 and ranked in the ‘100 Most Inspiring People’ by PharmaVoice in 2021. Previously, she served as the Global Chief Executive Officer at Ogilvy Health and founded the company’s Women’s Leadership Professional Network.

Marcello Damiani, Chief Digital and Operational Excellence Officer

Marcello Damiani, Chief Digital and Operational Excellence Officer

Marcello Damiani is the Chief Digital and Operational Excellence Officer of Moderna Inc. He has been instrumental in managing the company’s tech, life science, and IT teams since joining in May 2015. He is an expert at strategizing, monitoring, and implementing innovative programs for the digital space.

Damiani has worked with different multinational companies across the U.S. and Europe for more than 30 years. Some of his senior leadership roles include Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Executive Director of IT Global Infrastructure Services at bioMérieux and Senior Director of Global Networks at Motorola.

Tracey Franklin, Chief Human Resources Officer

Tracey Franklin, Chief Human Resources Officer

Tracy Franklin heads Moderna’s talent and organizational strategy as the Chief Human Resources Officer. She has years of experience in human resources operations and global talent management in Europe, including the U.K. and Ireland, the Middle East, Africa, and Canada.

Previously, Franklin worked at Merck & Co. for over 15 years, where she headed the company’s global talent strategy as Vice President and Chief of Human Resources Talent and Strategy Officer. She built an extensive portfolio in the vision, development, and execution of talent and workforce strategies and organizational culture.

Arpa Garay, Chief Commercial Officer

Arpa Garay, Chief Commercial Officer

Arpa Garay is the Chief Commercial Officer at Moderna Inc. She is responsible for the company’s global commercial organization, corporate strategy, business development, data & analytics, and company digital transformation. She assumed office in May 2022.

Garay has over 20 years of healthcare and global general management experience across commercial profit and loss. Previously, she worked as Chief Marketing Officer at Merck & Co., Inc. and held responsibilities across oncology, vaccines, specialty, chronic care, and more.

Jamey Mock, Chief Financial Officer

Jamey Mock, Chief Financial Officer

Jamey Mock joined Moderna Inc. as the Chief Financial Officer in September 2022. Previously, he worked as the Senior Vice President and CFO at PerkinElmer, Inc., Vice President of Corporate Audit Staff at General Electronics, and CFO at Subsea Systems & Drilling for GE Oil & Gas.

As Moderna Inc. CFO, Mock oversees the company’s financial, business development, and other business services functions. He also serves on the Executive Committee and reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer, Stéphane Bancel.

Shannon Thyme Klinger, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

Shannon Thyme Klinger, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

Shannon Thyme Klinger leads Moderna’s legal, governance, and corporate compliance efforts as the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. She has also served as the President of Moderna Charitable Foundation since June 2021.

Klinger’s previous senior leadership positions include Chief Legal Officer, Chief Ethics, Risk & Compliance Officer, Global Head of Litigation, and General Counsel at Novartis, where she worked for over ten years. She focuses on driving long-term business performance and ensuring society’s access to medicine.

Juan Andres, President of Strategic Partnerships and Enterprise Expansion

Juan Andres, President of Strategic Partnerships and Enterprise Expansion

Juan Andres serves as the President of Strategic Partnerships and Enterprise Expansion at Moderna. He heads the company’s growth organizations in the mRNA pipeline. He first joined the business in 2017 as the Chief Technical Operations and Quality Officer.

Before joining the company, Andres held the Global Head of Technical Operations, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain position at Novartis, where he headed over 25,000 employees across divisions. He also worked at Eli Lilly & Co. for 18 years and was involved in manufacturing, production, and quality roles.

Who is Moderna Inc. Board of Directors?

Moderna Inc. leadership members also include the board of directors, composed of established executives in their respective fields. They are key decision markers, creating policies and important solutions in the company. Meet the company’s Board of Directors here.

  • Noubar Afeyan, Ph.D., Co-founder & Chairman of Moderna and Chief Executive Officer of Flagship Pioneering
  • Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna
  • Stephen Berenson, Managing Partner of Flagship Pioneering
  • Sandra Horning M.D., Co-founder & Advisor of EQRx
  • Robert Langer Sc.D., Academic Co-Founder of Moderna and David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT
  • Elizabeth (Betsy) Nabel M.D., Executive Vice President for Strategy at ModeX Therapeutics
  • François Nader M.D., Former President, Chief Executive Officer, & Executive Director of NPS Pharmaceuticals
  • Paul Sagan, Senior Advisor and Executive-in-Residence of General Catalyst
  • Elizabeth Tallett, Former Principal of Hunter Partners

Changing The World of Medicine With The Power of mRNA

With a promise to deliver the power of mRNA, Moderna Inc. leaders and executives are changing the world of medicine. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel, the company commits to world-class drug discovery and developments in biotechnology.

/
Rear Adm. Casey Moton: Navy to Create Autonomy Baseline for Unmanned Vehicle Development
Published on
Rear Adm. Casey Moton: Navy to Create Autonomy Baseline for Unmanned Vehicle Development

Rear Adm. Casey Moton said the U.S. Navy is establishing a “government-controlled autonomy baseline” to set a standard for vendors to ensure compatibility of company-built systems with the branch’s unmanned vehicles, B

In an interview with Breaking Defense, Moton revealed that his team is doing research comparing industry systems and their vendors and taking into account feedback from military exercises to take this “next step” in autonomous vessel development.

As part of this effort, the division intends to select an autonomy baseline manager by the summer of next year, according to the publication.

The ABM contract winner will perform ground-level engineering services to continuously upgrade industry-developed systems for potential use in the Navy’s future unmanned vessels.

Moton noted the baseline will allow the agency to “continually inject competition” in its acquisitions while maintaining full control of the winning contractor to “help define what that system is going to be.”

/
Navy to Break Up 5 Prime Contracts to Increase Small Business Awards; Jimmy Smith Quoted
Published on
Navy to Break Up 5 Prime Contracts to Increase Small Business Awards; Jimmy Smith Quoted

The U.S. Navy will break up five major contracts into smaller awards in fiscal year 2023 to provide small businesses opportunities to compete for contract work, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Jimmy Smith, director of the office of small business programs at the Department of the Navy, said the move will help the military branch to meet the objectives of an executive order that seeks to advance equity and racial justice in underserved communities.

Smith said the service has not yet finalized the five contracts that it plans to break into parts due to the continuing resolution.

“I can’t pull the trigger on a new contract and tell you which ones those are that we’re going to break down and break into many parts until we get past the continuing resolution,” Smith told FNN in an interview.

“But we know all the contracts that are sun-setting on the horizon. If they fall into the right time frame, we’re breaking them up into many parts to create opportunities for small businesses, to increase our small business participation,” he added.

According to Smith, about $18.4 billion of the Navy’s prime contract awards went to small businesses in FY 2022, up from more than $17 billion during the previous fiscal year.

/
Johns Hopkins to Help Train Future Space Force Leaders; Katharine Kelley Quoted
Published on
Johns Hopkins to Help Train Future Space Force Leaders; Katharine Kelley Quoted

The U.S. Space Force has teamed up with the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies to provide professional development and specialized facilities to the service branch’s prospective leaders.

As part of the partnership, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory specialists will offer insights and hands-on training on emerging and existing technologies for Space Force mission use, APL said Wednesday.

The Maryland-based research center will lend its facilities to train top candidates of USSF’s Intermediate and Senior Developmental Education.

“To develop superior space capabilities and deliver warfighting solutions, we must deliberately grow our Guardians to think, act and fight strategically with an understanding of how they fit into the larger ecosystem of the space community,” said Katharine Kelley, deputy chief of space operations for human capital at USSF.

Aside from military professional development, the personnel at the branch will also undergo master’s degree-level education on advanced science, technology, engineering and math.

APL cited its development and delivery of the Deep Space Advanced Radar Concept demonstrator to USSF as an example of the lab’s national security mission support work.

/
Space Force Reports Milestone for Wide Field of View GEO Satellite With ‘First Light’ Data
Published on
Space Force Reports Milestone for Wide Field of View GEO Satellite With ‘First Light’ Data

A satellite that Boeing’s Millennium Space Systems subsidiary built for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command to help track hypersonic missiles and provide missile warning capabilities received “first light” data from its sensor.

The command said Monday the sensor data that will be collected by the Wide Field of View Geosynchronous Earth Orbit demonstration satellite will enable the service to detect reentry vehicles and fast-moving missiles to help improve technical intelligence and battlespace awareness.

“We are very excited for this milestone as we continue to march towards WFOV joining the family of contributing sensors to the missile warning architecture,” said Col. Heather Bogstie, senior material leader for SSC Space Sensing Directorate.

SSC and the Tools, Applications and Processing Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, initiated and completed the calibration for the spacecraft.

“WFOV and the team at the TAP Lab are key contributors to the pivot of missile warning/missile tracking, as it will enhance data exploitation and streamline test and certification of non-traditional sensors into the architecture. This will enable the network to transmit validated data to the warfighter faster than with traditional sensors,” Bogstie added.

In August, WFOV went online a month after launching aboard a United Launch Alliance-made rocket. The space vehicle comes with an infrared sensor payload built by L3Harris Technologies.

/
Sen. Ron Wyden Cites Need for Top Security Clearances for FTC Officials
Published on
Sen. Ron Wyden Cites Need for Top Security Clearances for FTC Officials

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, on Tuesday wrote a letter to the heads of the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence highlighting the need for top-level security clearances for FTC officials, specifically those who perform investigations into data privacy and security cases.

Wyden noted in the letter that his office learned that only four FTC personnel have Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance and that the commission has not taken part in classified discussions on cyber threats.

“The FTC should promptly request TS/SCI clearances for its Chair and the other Commissioners, other senior leadership, and some of the staff in the FTC’s Division of Privacy and Identity Protection,” the lawmaker wrote in the letter.

“The DNI should expand its cooperation with the FTC and invite FTC staff to classified briefings. The DNI should also identify for the FTC the kinds of datasets that are being or are likely to be targeted by foreign hackers,” Wyden added.

According to the legislator, China and other foreign governments have been involved in efforts to gain access to personal data of U.S. citizens through legal and illegal approaches and giving the FTC with visibility into security threats could help counter foreign hacking efforts.

//
IBM, Sierra Space to Collaborate on Next Generation Space Technology
Published on
IBM, Sierra Space to Collaborate on Next Generation Space Technology

Space technology company IBM and commercial space transportation and infrastructure organization Sierra Space have signed a memorandum of understanding to solidify their collaboration plans for technology development endeavors.

In line with this agreement, the two companies will work to apply IBM’s space technology and software platforms along with Sierra Space’s collection of vehicles and infrastructure, the Armonk, New York and Louisville, Colorado-based organizations confirmed on Wednesday.

“Through this planned agreement with IBM, we will leverage the full depth of its industry expertise and innovative technology portfolio to evaluate and support unique in-space challenges we will face as we build the future of commercial space,” stated Tom Vice, Sierra Space CEO.

The goal of the agreement is to create a platform to support cloud technology and mission operations in space while also promoting the development of new applications across a variety of areas including commerce, research and tourism.

Using IBM’s platform would advance Sierra Space’s ambition to improve business processes for stronger performance. These developments would entail further automation of IT systems, application and data flows, and networks used for zero-touch operations. These improvements will inform understanding of threats, orchestration actions and automated responses.

This technology integration will also enhance task organization for Sierra Space astronauts using data analysis and collection. 

Through collaboration, IBM and Sierra Space aim to develop a computing landscape in which users can build and modernize applications, prepare data for AI and combine and direct workloads through open and secure operations

“Collaborating with a leader like Sierra Space will support the growth of a more robust space economy in low-Earth orbit and beyond,” remarked IBM Space CTO Naeem Altaf.

There are currently discussions surrounding the use of these technologies both terrestrially and in space.

/
VMware’s Keith Nakasone: Agencies Must Speed Up the Adoption of Zero Trust Architecture
Published on
VMware’s Keith Nakasone: Agencies Must Speed Up the Adoption of Zero Trust Architecture

In the ever-evolving cyber security landscape, moving to a more secure zero trust system is key for protecting data, according to Keith Nakasone, federal strategist at VMware.

The concept of zero trust is built around the idea that trust cannot be assumed and thus must be continuously verified to ensure the security of critical information.

“To stay ahead of cyberattacks, agencies need to accelerate the adoption of modern technology approaches like zero-trust architecture that enables them to decommission legacy systems,” urged Nakasone.

Following a May 2021 Executive Order, zero trust architecture standards, which include improvements to multi-factor authentication, consistent monitoring of who can access what data, modernizing encryption methods and implementing more thorough data organization and classification must be met by federal civilian executive branch agencies by the end of September 2024.

“Public sector agencies possess troves of information and data that make them prime targets for cybercriminals,” stressed Nakasone. Additionally, he emphasized the impact of cyberattacks on U.S. citizens who rely on many government services, such as social security, passports and emergency management.

Nakasone also commented on the importance of maintaining employee knowledge on policies regarding data security and the use of the DevSecOps model, which embeds security into the lifecycle process of IT and acquisition, to strengthen cloud security.

If you’re interested in learning more about how federal agencies are bolstering their cybersecurity practices, join the Potomac Officers Club for its Cybersecurity in the Modern Intelligence Community Forum on Nov. 16. Register here.

VMware’s Keith Nakasone: Agencies Must Speed Up the Adoption of Zero Trust Architecture
1 … 699 700 701 702 703 … 2,617