Emil Michael, under secretary of defense for research and engineering nominee for US President Donald Trump, during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Photographer: Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
TAMPA., Fla — The Pentagon is focused on being more straightforward with vendors, especially smaller ones, about the kind of technology it wants and when it wants it, Emil Michael, the Defense Department’s Chief Technology Officer said today.
“The way I’ve approached this — knowing how smaller companies work — is fast yeses and fast nos. The worst thing for a small company is to be dragged through a multi-year process,” Michael, who previously served as a top executive for Uber and a small software company called Klout, told the audience at the annual SOF Week exposition today.
“They knock on 100 doors, and at the end of it, there’s no buyer, right?” he added. “So, how do I create one big front door that they could come in?”
In order to give vendors a “fast” yes or no, Michael said he is bringing in services “very early” to test the technology vendors have to offer and inform the companies right away if it’s something they are interested in.
