Donald C. Winter, NAE chair (2020–24), is an independent consultant supporting national and international security interests in the US and allied nations. He served as the 74th Secretary of the Navy from January 2006 to March 2009. As Secretary of the Navy, he led America's Navy and Marine Corps Team and was responsible for an annual budget in excess of $125 billion and almost 900,000 people. Dr. Winter’s prior business career in the aerospace and defense industry spanned over 30 years as a systems engineer, program manager and corporate executive. From 2009 to 2020, he was a Professor of Practice at the University of Michigan where he taught graduate level courses on systems engineering, satellite design, and maritime policy. Since 2011 he has served in multiple roles assisting the Commonwealth of Australia in their efforts to reconstruct the Royal Australian Navy's fleet and establish a sustainable shipbuilding capability. During 2019 to 2021 he also served as the US DoD’s Senior Defense Industry Advisor for Ukraine. He received his BS from the University of Rochester (1969) and MS (1970) and PhD (1972) from the University of Michigan, all in physics. Dr. Winter currently serves as the chair of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE).