JAMES L. WOLBARSHT

CEO, DEFCON®, Inc.

Jim has held CEO, CFO and CIO positions and Board of Directors’ roles in both million- and billion-dollar firms in defense, intelligence, and financial services. He brings an integrated perspective on technology, cyber security, corporate risk, strategy, and implementation to U.S. and international business.

DEFCON® has been connecting business, technology, and government since 1985 and is currently focused on applied artificial intelligence.  The firm generated hundreds of millions of dollars for clients and originated multiple joint ventures.  Jim also chaired Strategy for the $1.5 billion federal business at BearingPoint and served as Managing Director for technology planning across the Executive Office of the President in The White House. 

He was the top financial executive at the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), insuring 67,000 plans for 41 million Americans where he managed investments of $6 billion. The Washington Times said he was responsible for “turning the once-troubled (corporation) around.”

Pro bono, Jim served as a member of the Naval Research Advisory Committee (NRAC, the Senior External Scientific Advisory Board for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps); the Director’s External Review Team at the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA); the Defense Secretary’s Missile Defense Advisory Committee (MDAC); and he chaired the Advisory Group for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for five years.

The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, FORTUNE Magazine, and The National Journal, among other media, have quoted him as a technology and management expert.  He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Strategic News Service (SNS).

He sat on the Board at Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions, Inc., the Executive Committee of the Military Order of the Carabao and the Steering Committee for the industry-wide FOCI (Foreign Ownership, Control, and Influence) Working Group. He is an expert on CFIUS and ITAR issues.

Jim holds an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.  He served as a U.S. Naval Officer and is a Life Member of both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He is an outdoor enthusiast and certified in Wilderness First Aid.