Speakers

Ryan Benitez is the Chief Commercial Officer at NATO's Defence Innovation Accelerator of the North Atlantic (DIANA), where she is responsible for leading the organisation’s industry and venture capital engagement strategy, building pathways to commercialise and scale dual-use startups across NATO member countries. Her focus is to drive growth and adoption of emerging and disruptive technologies in both the commercial market and into the hands of the warfighter.

Prior to this post, Ryan worked across national security, venture capital, and technology acceleration. She has advised and invested in early-stage companies throughout her experience in venture capital and scaled accelerator programming for the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Energy.

Ryan began her career as a U.S. Navy officer, leading operations at sea and abroad. National security and innovation have remained central themes throughout her career, with a particular focus on bridging the gap between startups and government to deliver cutting edge capabilities at speed and scale. Ryan holds a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from The Wharton School and Master's in Security Studies from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.