DIU Director Owen West Wins
2026 Wash100 Award for Modernizing DOW Acquisition
Executive Mosaic is excited to honor Owen West, Defense Innovation Unit director, as a 2026 Wash100 Award winner for his work helping modernize Department of War acquisition with a focus on faster procurement at lower cost.
West is a talented defense practitioner and banker with an extensive track record of success both in the DOW and on Wall Street. In addition to his 16-year Marine Corps career, West served as assistant secretary of defense for special operations from 2017 to 2019.
He spent 20 years as an energy trading partner at Goldman Sachs, where he served as the head of global natural gas and U.S. power trading. West has nearly two decades of experience in risk management and the most volatile international markets.
The 2026 Wash100 Award popular vote is open! Vote for Owen West and other top GovCon leaders today at Wash100.com.
Why Is Owen West Winning a 2026 Wash100 Award?
West recently served as the head of the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance effort, which had a goal of providing thousands of affordable drones to U.S. military units by 2027, according to the Wall Street Journal. The program featured an innovative acquisition strategy that used $1 billion provided by Congress to aggressively purchase unmanned systems after testing them via competitions.
Drone Dominance had a goal of keeping each unit price low, installing easily-updatable software and using commercial off-the-shelf components. This correlates with the Pentagon’s new Acquisition Transformation Strategy that seeks to leverage accelerated procurement to rebuild the defense industrial base.
“We are proud to recognize Director West with his first Wash100 Award for strengthening how the Department of War engages with industry,” said Jim Garrettson, Executive Mosaic CEO and founder of the Wash100 Award. “His leadership in initiatives like the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program—focused on scaling domestic production of advanced, cost-effective unmanned systems—will be key to accelerating critical capabilities through DIU.
“Drawing on nearly two years as assistant secretary for special operations, where he leveraged unique acquisition authorities to rapidly field key technologies, and his 16-year Marine Corps career, Director West brings a clear understanding of the speed and agility required to support the warfighter.
“As head of DIU, he is well positioned to translate that experience into lasting programs of record and deliver meaningful impact across the defense innovation ecosystem,” Garrettson continued.
Who Is Owen West?
As assistant secretary of defense for special operations, West was a key adviser to former Secretary of Defense James Mattis and advised on critical topics like unconventional warfare, counterterrorism, direct action and special reconnaissance. He wrote the irregular warfare annex to the 2018 National Defense Strategy.
West previously served as an infantry platoon commander, reconnaissance platoon leader and combat adviser. He twice deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and was the fire support officer for Force Recon Company in 2003. As an adviser to an Iraqi infantry battalion holding a remote outpost in Anbar province in 2006, West led a group of 12 soldiers and Marines living among 500 Iraqi soldiers.
He has authored three books about military affairs. Among them is Sharkman Six. Published in 2001, it won the Boyd literary award for best military novel. The Snake Eaters, released in 2012, described the combat advisory mission in Iraq. West has also written dozens of articles and op-eds on the military.
What Are Owen West’s Recent Career Achievements?
West designed the Drone Dominance program to serve as a testing ground for a faster and more efficient Pentagon acquisition process. The program came at a time when armed and disposable drones were increasingly disrupting modern warfare.
The program had four phases, each of which ended with completed deliveries of production-quality drones from the winners of competitions. These experiments featured military operators flying the aircraft in various scenarios before acquiring the platforms, according to DefenseScoop.
The number of systems procured by the DOW through Drone Dominance increases with each phase, while the number of chosen contractors, and drone price per unit, steadily decreases. Vendors bear the development and manufacturing risk, and receive payment for each aircraft at delivery.
West also led the Department of Government Efficiency’s Pentagon division, where he championed efforts to overhaul drone acquisition, streamline procurement and expand domestic production, Reuters has reported.
DIU is a key focal point in the Pentagon’s quest to advance its acquisition system. It started in 2015 as a Silicon Valley outpost designed to help build bridges between the Pentagon and technology startups. In the past 10 years, DIU has become a leader in spurring military adoption of commercial capabilities and helping small firms and their emerging technologies get past the “valley of death” and into operational programs of record.
What Does Owen West’s Success Mean for GovCon?
The government contracting industry can expect West to champion efforts that accelerate acquisition timelines, leverage operator experiments and deliver critical emerging technologies to operators as quickly as possible.
Congratulations to Owen West on winning his 2026 Wash100 Award!
Cast your vote for West in the 2026 Wash100 popular vote competition.