Mike Brown

After years as a CEO and White House Innovation Fellow, Mike Brown is the director of the Defense Innovation Unit, which was launched to accelerate the Defense Department’s adoption of commercial technology. “DIU is not an IT organization but our top IT priorities would include providing the tools for the organization to be productive and minimizing the time to use and work with these tools; this is much easier with commercial tools and networks than what many at DOD have to work with because of classification issues,” he told FedScoop. In his view, it’s important for leaders to be genuine, empathetic, and committed to ensuring their teams have the environment and resources needed to get their jobs done. “Given the size of government organizations, teamwork is required across many groups to create high-impact results. Building relationships and a shared vision is paramount,” he added.