Honorable Nickolas Guertin

Hon. Nickolas H. Guertin, PE has over 30 years of experience in building and fielding complex military systems, including ships, submarines, aircraft, weapons and advanced software systems. As the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development & Acquisition), he had a $130 billion portfolio for delivering combat-ready to the Navy and Marine Corps in addition to international sales to allies and partners. Prior to that, he served as the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) at the Department of Defense, overseeing 237 programs, international test collaboration agreements and reporting directly to Congress and the Secretary of Defense. He has held prior leadership roles in rapid prototyping, open architecture, and acquisition reform. While at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute, Guertin has pioneered digital transformation strategies on topics that have reshaped defense acquisition. He is now a part-time member of the faculty at Virginia Tech as a Senior Research Fellow. Separately, he is also is sitting on industry advisory boards and performing consulting in the Defense space. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from the Univ. of Washington and an MBA from Bryant Univ. His military service includes submarine duty and later retiring as a Navy Reserve Engineering Duty Officer. He is the recipient of numerous civilian and military honors and is a published thought leader in acquisition strategies, open systems, and operational testing.