Speakers

Mr. Tom Callender serves as the Senior Manager for Navy Programs at General Dynamics Electric Boat, where he is responsible for fostering strategic relationships with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of the Navy, and Marine Corps stakeholders across all business units of the General Dynamics Marine Division. In this role, he supports the advancement of undersea and maritime capabilities critical to national defense.

Prior to joining General Dynamics, Mr. Callender was a Senior Fellow for Defense Programs at The Heritage Foundation, where he led research and policy analysis on U.S. naval power, force structure, and emerging maritime technologies. His work contributed to national discourse on fleet readiness and the future of American sea power.

Mr. Callender is a retired U.S. Navy officer with extensive operational and strategic experience. He served aboard multiple submarines and held key staff assignments, including with the Vice Chief of Naval Operations and the Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy. As Director of Naval Capabilities for the Deputy Under Secretary, he led comprehensive assessments that directly informed the Secretary of the Navy’s decisions on major Navy and Marine Corps acquisition programs.

Mr. Callender holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master of Science in Applied Physics from Johns Hopkins University. He is also a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute’s Leadership for a Democratic Society and Harvard Kennedy School’s executive development program.