Lieutenant Commander Matthew Driskill, U.S. Navy

Lieutenant Commander Matt Driskill began his career in the Navy through an ROTC scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University. Mr. Driskill’s passion to lead and help others is highlighted by his numerous military awards and continuous charitable work. Mr. Driskill has completed numerous operational deployments, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and East Asia Contingency Operations in Japan and Korea.

Mr. Driskill has spent the last 9 years flying the Navy’s newest and most capable tactical jet aircraft, the F/A-18F Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler, logging over 2,000 flight hours. Mr. Driskill currently serves as the Deputy Program Manager for the Navy’s Jammer Technique Optimization Group where he leads a national team of 120 government and industry experts in providing technical and tactical solutions for airborne electronic attack platforms.

With the help of the Milken Institute, he founded the Military Leadership Circle (MLC), a group of active duty officers and veterans striving to bridge the civil-military divide. MLC promotes corporate-military leadership exchanges and facilitates the successful transition of veterans into the civilian work force. With Star Mountain he is focused on assisting veterans in connecting with small business career opportunities. U.S. small businesses represent over 90% of all U.S. businesses, which generally do not have efficient ways of connecting with veterans.

Mr. Driskill also serves as a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations and as a special advisor for non-profit groups including the Carrington Charitable Foundation, the Gary Sinise Foundation, the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum, and Business Executives for National Security. Mr. Driskill’s awards include three Strike Flight Air Medals, three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.

In addition to his undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University, Mr. Driskill earned two Master’s Degrees, one in business at Auburn University’s Executive MBA program, where he graduated with honors, and another in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island where he graduated with distinction. He and his wife Natalie currently reside near Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD with their two children.