Kathleen Hicks, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, marked another significant milestone in her career upon receiving her fourth Wash100 award in February 2024. Her latest recognition acknowledges her advocacy in emerging technologies to support security initiatives.
Learn more about Dr. Kathleen Hicks’ journey to bagging her fourth consecutive Wash100 award.
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Kathleen Hicks: Who is she?
Dr. Kathleen H. Hicks is the Deputy Secretary of Defense at the US Department of Defense (DoD). She assumed office on February 9, 2021, and is the first woman to be appointed by the Senate for this role. She is the highest-ranking woman to have served at the DoD, only the second-in-command to the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Kathleen Hicks’ career at the Office of the Secretary of Defense spanned over ten years. From 1993 to 2006, she assumed various positions, most notably rising from Presidential Management Intern to the Senior Executive Service. From 2006 to 2009, Ms. Hicks was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In 2009, Ms. Kathleen Hicks was appointed as the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Forces. In this role, she led the development of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review and the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance.
In 2012, she was appointed as the Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, where she provided advice on global and regional defense policies and strategies for the Secretary of Defense.
Kathleen Hicks graduated with magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa honors in her Bachelor of Arts in History degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1991. She completed her Master of Arts degree at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs and her PhD in Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
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Kathleen Hick’s Responsibilities as Deputy Secretary of Defense
As the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks takes on various capacities similar to that of a chief operating officer or a chairperson of the board.
One of her prime responsibilities is overseeing the Department of Defense’s day-to-day internal management processes of its $500-billion-plus budget. In this position, she reviews budget traditions, legacy systems, and existing incentive frameworks.
Dr. Kathleen Hicks also serves as the chair of several boards operating under the DoD, including the Special Access Program Oversight Committee (SAPOC) and the Senior Level Review Group (formerly known as the Defense Resources Board).
Furthermore, she performs the duties of the Secretary of Defense through delegation and authorization. In January 2024, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin temporarily delegated Ms. Hicks to be Interim Secretary of Defense when he was hospitalized.
A unique responsibility of Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks was the modernization of the US’s nuclear triad, where she led the refitting and improvement of the three-pronged military force structure.
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Kathleen Hicks, a Four-time Consecutive Wash100 Winner
Kathleen Hicks won her fourth Wash100 award for the integration of emerging technologies to support national security missions. This award is her fourth consecutive recognition and her fourth as the Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Jim Garrettson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Executive Mosaic (EM), highlighted that the Deputy Secretary of Defense’s recent win is due to her staunch support of the DoD’s responsible AI use and her leadership in the agency’s cutting-edge Replicator drone program.
“Kathleen is a critical force driving defense missions forward; her reliability, innovation, and outstanding leadership are assets not only to our country but to our 2024 Wash100 list as well,” Mr. Garrettson added.
About Wash100
Wash100 is a prestigious award that recognizes the elite 100 executives and leaders for their significant impact on government contracting and related industries. It was founded by Executive Mosaic in 2014.
The awardees are chosen based on their consistent accomplishments, leadership, innovation, and vision for the GovCon domain. Winners are recognized for their acumen in making impactful milestones in the past and present years
The Wash100 popularity vote is ongoing. Cast your votes on the executives you deem worthy of this Wash100 recognition.
What are Kathleen Hicks’ Notable Industry Contributions?
On January 31, 2024, Dr. Kathleen Hicks announced that the Department of Defense took on a warfighter-centric approach to innovation to work on accelerating the delivery of combat capabilities to US forces across the globe.
The Deputy Secretary of Defense underscored that the DoD is implementing a rapid-moving cycle that effectively deploys warfighting capabilities to the right people in a timely manner. This effort helps warfighters deter aggressions and gain an advantage on the battlefield.
Another notable accomplishment of Dr. Kathleen H. Hick as the Deputy Secretary of Defense was revealing a new strategy that integrates analytics, data, and artificial intelligence into the DoD warfare decision-making processes. Her active role in this initiative was one of the catalysts to winning Wash100 2024.
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