Mike Madsen
Federal Leadership of the Year
COVID-19 has taught many people that a crisis can lead to creativity. For the Department of Defense, “the pandemic has been a forcing function to transform the way government operates on a day-to-day basis,” Mike Madsen, deputy director of the Defense Innovation Unit, told FedScoop. “There are so many tools for reaching out to new and potential solution providers. DOD sometimes doesn’t leverage all of these tools, and 2020 has shown that there are ways to reconnect not only here across the U.S. but around the world with our partners and allies,” he said. During the pandemic, the DIU team was able to quickly pivot existing projects to help with the COVID-19 effort, Madsen said.
