MITSAO: Innovation in the Military

Join MIT Sloan Alumni Online this season for a series of interviews with principled, innovative leaders who improve the world. In honor of Veterans Day, Jackie Selby, EMBA '21, hosts a panel discussion on Innovation in the Military with three service members who gained foundational experience in special operations and have dedicated 20-year military careers.

Ryan Harth is an active-duty US Army Special Forces officer and former enlisted Force Recon Marine who most recently served as the Director and Deputy Director for the US Army Special Operations Command, Artificial Intelligence Division. Previous assignments include Force Recon operator, platoon leader, Special Forces operator, Jedburgh, Special Forces headquarters company commander, Special Forces/Special Activities Troop Commander, and Battalion Chief of Staff. Ryan has deployed many times since 1999 for combat, contingency operations, and training. Ryan received a Master of Science in Defense Analysis from the Naval Post Graduate School and is a current graduate student at Northwestern University earning a Master of Science in Data Science with a focus on Data Engineering.
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Lee Novy graduated from Bentley University in 2000 and commissioned to the US Army through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Novy served in the Army Special Forces (Green Beret) since 2006 and was deployed around the globe for training and combat. In 2012, he earned a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA and most recently served as the deputy director of modernization for US Army Special Operations Command.  Novy is currently transitioning to the private sector where he is exploring opportunities in commercial real estate and defense contracting.
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Angel Zajkowski enlisted into the Army as a Human Intelligence Specialist before transitioning to special operations. During her assignment in special missions, she served as a Special Operator, Operational Team Leader, Operator Training Instructor, Future Plans and Operations Staff Manager, Operational Detachment Leader, Joint Task Force Senior Enlisted Leader, Director of Advanced Technologies, Deputy Chief Technology Officer, Chief Restructuring Officer, and Chief of Staff with multiple operational and training deployments to combat zones and conflict areas around the world. She is the first woman in special missions to receive a medal for valor for actions in combat and founded SOCOM Ignite. She holds degrees from Stanford Graduate School of Business, Methodist University, Cochise College, and Monterey Peninsula College.
Learn more here.