Mike Madsen, deputy director and director of strategic engagement at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), was presented his first Wash100 Award, the most prestigious and respected award in all of government contracting (GovCon), during a recent visit by Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic and founder of the Wash100 Award.
Executive Mosaic recognized Madsen with his 2021 Wash100 Award for his leadership, innovation, and success to drive commercial technology and partnerships to advance IT capabilities for both sectors.
Under Madsen’s leadership, DIU has continued to stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing emerging technology landscape and commercial sector while also working to continue pushing for the advanced capabilities of U.S. military branches and our warfighters.
DIU identified artificial intelligence/machine learning, space, cybersecurity, autonomy and human systems as its top five tech focus areas.
“Those are the areas that we see undergoing the greatest rate of change in the commercial sector. We think they also best represent the defense mission set,” Madsen said. “But we’re not just sitting back static on those.”
“We want to move at commercial speeds … and look like a commercial entity to those tech companies,” Madsen said. “Then we put that problem [statement] out to the commercial sector and work with them for proposals and look to award a prototype contract as quickly as we can.
What we’ve represented is a lowering of those barriers to entry, making it easier for those leading-edge technology companies to get their technology to the men and women in uniform,” he added.
Madsen also noted that DIU intends to continue to build the “connective tissue” of the triad of government, academia and the commercial tech sector to further advance innovation.
Executive Mosaic congratulates Mike Madsen for his 2021 Wash100 Award. His vision as well as his drive for innovation in the federal and commercial sectors demonstrates the impact that he has on the tech landscape and the level of excellence he’s achieved to earn a Wash100 Award.
