Our Advisors
Bedrock is advised by a distinguished group of leaders drawn from across the worlds of defense, technology, education, industry, and finance.
Lauren Bedula
Policy & global strategy expert in cyber, innovation, and disruptive technology
Lauren Bedula serves as a managing director at Beacon Global Strategies, where she leads the firm's national security technology practice. She is a graduate of the American University.
Steve Blank
Entrepreneur, educator, & originator of the Lean Startup movement
Steve Blank co-founded numerous high-tech companies, created the Hacking for Defense and related courses at Stanford University, and has published several books on entrepreneurship.
Gen. (ret.) Martin E. Dempsey
18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Prior to serving as the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. (ret.) Martin E. Dempsey served as 37th chief of staff of the U.S. Army, commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and acting commander of U.S. Central Command. He teaches at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.
Jeffrey Dressler
Partner, SoftBank; Afghanistan War Commission
Jeffrey Dressler is a partner of SoftBank Group International and a Commissioner on the Afghanistan War Commission. He previously served as a professional staff member on Capitol Hill in a variety of national security-related positions.
Steve Gera
CEO of Gains Group
Steve Gera is an entrepreneur, a Marine, and a former coach and executive in the NFL. He is also a partner at HickoryVC, and has taught classes at San Diego State University, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and La Universidad Europea de Madrid.
Hon. Lisa Hershman
Business leader, author, & former Defense Dept. Chief Management Officer
The Hon. Lisa Hershman served as Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense from 2019-2021. She has also served in executive roles in business and the nonprofit sector, and is a published author.
Jennifer McArdle, PhD
Industry leader in simulations and defense technology
Dr. Jennifer McArdle is an adjunct senior fellow in the Defense Program and wargaming lab at the Center for a New American Security. She is also the senior director for defense programs and the deputy chief learning officer at CAE USA and a non-resident fellow at the Joint Special Operations University.
Scott Petry
Co-founder & CEO of Authentic8 & founder of Postini
Scott Petry began his career at Apple, and subsequently worked in the wireless and open-source industries before becoming a founder. He founded Postini, which was later acquired by Google. He also serves on several boards.
Prasad Ram, PhD
Founder & CEO of Gooru & former Head of R&D for Google India
Dr. Prasad Ram is the founder and CEO of Gooru and former Head of R&D for Google India. Previously, he earned his doctorate from UCLA, started his career as a researcher at Xerox, and served as Chief Technology Officer of Yahoo India.
Sae Schatz, PhD
Co-founder of Bedrock & former head of Pentagon's Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative
Dr. Sae Schatz is the co-founder of Bedrock and former head of the Pentagon's Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative. She currently serves as the executive director of the Partnership for Peace Consortium, a multinational security cooperation program situated within the George C. Marshall Center.
Jason Weiss
Entrepreneur & first Defense Dept. Chief Software Officer
Jason Weiss is an entrepreneur, executive, and U.S. Navy veteran. He served as the first Chief Software Officer of the Department of Defense from 2021-2022, and is now the Chief Operating Officer at TestifySec, a VC-backed software company.