Doug Beck

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Doug Beck is the Director of the Defense Innovation Unit and Principal Staff Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.  In this role, he oversees efforts to accelerate the Department's adoption of commercial technology throughout the military, and serves as principal liaison for the Department to the tech sector and other nontraditional defense companies and investors, as well as to related efforts by interagency and international allies and partners. He also serves as senior advisor to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary on technology innovation, competition, and strategic impact.  In his previous experience with DIU, he founded and led its joint reserve component from inception in 2015 to 2019.

Prior to joining DIU, Doug was a Vice President at Apple and a direct report to its CEO, Tim Cook. From 2009-2023, he co-led global business development and sales functions, led Apple’s businesses across Northeast Asia and the Americas, and, most recently, led several of the company’s purpose-driven businesses worldwide, including in health, education, and other institutions of public impact.

Doug also previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Charles Schwab Corporation. Prior to Schwab, he was a partner at McKinsey & Company, co-leader of McKinsey's global strategy practice, and a leader of other industry and functional practices in the United States and Asia. In 2000, he was elected as a McKinsey partner.

Currently a Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Doug served in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2006-2007 with a joint special operations task force. He has also served extensively throughout the Asia Pacific region during his nearly 26 years of service, including command of a large joint reserve unit supporting U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. His personal and unit awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal (two awards), the Bronze Star Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, and the Presidential Unit Citation. As a civilian, he has been awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest civilian award conferred by the Secretary of Defense.

Doug holds a bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Yale and an M.Phil in International Relations from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.