Pete Newell, on the Origins of Hacking for Defense

Pete Newell is a nationally recognized innovation expert whose work is transforming how the  government and other large organizations compete and drive growth. He is the CEO of BMNT, an internationally recognized innovation consultancy and early-stage tech  accelerator that helps solve some of the hardest real-world problems in national security, state and  local governments, and beyond. Founded in Silicon Valley, BMNT has offices in Palo Alto, Washington  DC, Austin, London, and Canberra. BMNT uses a framework, called H4X®, to drive innovation at speed. H4X® is an adaptation of the  problem curation techniques honed on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan combined with the best  practices employed by successful Silicon Valley startups. The result is a disciplined, evidence-based,  data-driven process for connecting innovation activities into an accountable system that delivers  solutions and overcome obstacles to innovation. Pete is a founder and co-author, with Lean Startup founder Steve Blank, of Hacking for Defense (H4D)®,  an academic program taught at 47+ universities in the U.S., as well as universities in the UK and  Australia. H4D® focuses on solving national security problems. It has in turned created a series of sister  courses – Hacking for Diplomacy, Hacking for Oceans, Hacking for Sustainability, Hacking for Local and  others – that use the H4X® framework to solve critical real-world problems while providing students  with a platform to gain crucial problem-solving experience while performing a national service. Pete  continues to advise and teach the original H4D® course at Stanford University with Steve Blank.  In addition, Pete is Co-Founder and Board Director of The Common Mission Project, the 501c3 non profit responsible for creating an international network of mission-driven entrepreneurs, including through programs like H4D®.  Prior to joining BMNT, Pete served as the Director of the US Army’s Rapid Equipping Force (REF).  Reporting directly to the senior leadership of the Army, he was charged with rapidly finding, integrating,  and employing solutions to emerging problems faced by Soldiers on the battlefield.  From 2010 to 2013 Pete led the REF in the investment of over $1.4B in efforts designed to counter the  effects of improvised explosive devices, reduce small units exposure to suicide bombers and rocket  attacks and to reduce their reliance on long resupply chains. He was responsible for the Army’s first  deployment of mobile manufacturing labs as well as the use of smart phones merged with tactical radio  networks. Pete retired from the US Army as a Colonel in 2013. During his 32 years in uniform he served as both an  enlisted national guardsman and as an active duty officer. He commanded Infantry units at the platoon  through brigade level, while performing special operations, combat, and peace support operations in  Panama, Kosovo, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. He is an Army Ranger who has received  numerous awards to include the Silver Star and Presidential Unit Citation.  Pete holds a BS from Kansas State University, an MS from the US Army Command & General Staff  College, an MS from the National Defense University and advanced certificates from the MIT Sloan  School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.