SummitET Graduates from MissionLink’s 2023 Cohort; Joins Esteemed ‘Trusted Innovation Ecosystem’ in NatSec Tech

November 16, 2023 | St. Petersburg, FL  –  

Summit Exercises and Training LLC (SummitET^®) a Preparedness Solutions Company^®, is proud to announce that John Duda, CEO, has graduated from MissionLink, an exclusive nationwide network that serves as a force-multiplier and gateway to accelerating innovation and advancing solutions to National Security threats.

Founded in 2010, MissionLink’s mission is to connect passionate problem solvers with next-gen, mission-critical capabilities in NatSec tech to the right resources, customers, investors, advisors and partners to solve the rapidly evolving national security concerns across commercial and federal sectors. For more than 10 years, MissionLink has been on the cutting edge of National Security and is recognized as the organization that has most captured the timeliness and immediacy of the latest security developments, discoveries and breakthroughs.

“We are proud to welcome John Duda into MissionLink’s esteemed alumni network,” said Andy Lustig, cofounder and Organizing Board member of MissionLink. “Our objective is to seed and accelerate innovation across the country, from Washington D.C. to Silicon Valley, and bridge enterprise and national security missions with dual-use commercial capabilities – and the 2023 cohort is certainly representative of the innovation and momentum happening in NatSec tech.”

SummitET was selected by world class technologists and thought leaders that serve on MissionLink’s Board of Advisors, such as Will Grannis, CTO of Google; Tim Newberry of Ten Eleven Ventures and former founder of Blackhorse Solutions; Tim Estes of Authentic Capital and former founder of Digital Reasoning; Bill Crowell of Alsop Louie Ventures and former NSA; Alan Wade, former CIA; and Ron Gula of Gula Tech Adventures and former cofounder of Tenable. Throughout the program, cohort members attended a series of events, led by notable speakers such as Matt Devost, OODA Network; Jennifer Ewbank, CIA; Scott Frederick, Sands Capital; Lt Gen (ret.) Scott Howell, former JSOC Commander; Brian MacCarthy, Booz Allen Ventures; Tim Gillespie, In-Q-Tel; and Amit Yoran, Chairman & CEO of Tenable.  

Upon completion, SummitET now joins a powerful alumni network of more than 600 CXOs, including the founders and CEOs of Rapid7, MAG Aerospace, Cofense, Altamira, Cloudera, Cylance, Crowdstrike, Novetta, Cleversafe and Dovel Technologies; many of which credit MissionLink with providing their company with the game changing access, insight and opportunity needed to drive meaningful growth and impact to their industry and customers.

Jeremy King, MissionLink cofounder and Organizing Board member, also commented, “National security’s mission has become much broader and is rapidly evolving, and the need for collaboration between the government and commercial sector is critical now more than ever. For decades, the answer was ‘public-private partnership’ – we believe it is now time to empower industry innovation and facilitate ‘private-public partnership.’ MissionLink has become the most exclusive room in the country to learn, share and contribute to the thought leadership and innovative technologies for what happens Next.”

The MissionLink Organizing Board includes Jeremy King of Benchmark Executive Search; Matt Devost of OODA Inc.; and Andy Lustig and Katherine Ferguson of Cooley LLP. MissionLink is backed by an elite advisory board comprised of the best and brightest minds from the defense, Intelligence and NatSec tech sectors who are deeply committed to building a strong ecosystem for success – including Lt Gen (ret.) Scott Howell, former JSOC Commander; Chris Gladwin, CEO of Ocient and former founder/CEO of Cleversafe; Dawn Meyerriecks, former CIA, DNI and DISA; Maj Gen (ret.) Aaron Prupas, former Project MAVEN; Sue Gordon, former NGA and CIA; Bill Crowell, former NSA; Charlene Leubecker, former CIA; Bob Gourley, former CTO at DIA; Bryan Ware, former DHS; Jonathan Moneymaker, CEO Blue Halo and former President of Altamira; Ellen McCarthy, former Department of State; Fran Landolf, former NSA; Cyndi Gula and Ron Gula of Gula Tech Adventures; Will Grannis, CTO of Google; Jen Sovada, President of Sandbox AQ; Lt Gen Rhett Hernandez, former Chief of Army Cyber Command; Peggy Styer and Jack Kerrigan of Razor’s Edge Ventures; Tim Newberry, Ten Eleven Ventures; Wes Blackwell, Partner at Booz Allen Ventures; Constantine Saab, Partner at Valor Equity; and Jim Hunt, Managing Partner of Lavrock Ventures. 

About SummitET  

Summit Exercises and Training LLC (SummitET®) is a Florida-based, veteran-owned preparedness solutions company that provides proven full spectrum solutions to threats facing U.S. and international government and non-government organizations, as well as private entities through industry-leading experts and impeccable customer service. 

About MissionLink  

MissionLink is a non-profit trade association and exclusive network that includes decision makers, government leaders, top founders and CEOs from across the US who are building the most cutting-edge mission critical capabilities in cyber, AI, virtual reality, IoT, space and quantum science. MissionLink companies are addressing the next generation of threats across national security, healthcare, financial services, ecommerce, social media, life sciences, automotive and transportation, logistics, supply chain, manufacturing and critical infrastructure. Backed by an elite advisory board comprised of the best and brightest minds from defense, Intel and homeland security sectors, MissionLink’s trusted innovation ecosystem fosters access, insight and opportunity to bridge enterprise and national security missions with dual-use commercial capabilities. For more information, please visit the MissionLink website. 

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