As Senior Vice President of Strategy, Terry provides direction and insight to propel Xcelerate’s growth, deepen client ties, and identify and vet strategic investments to advance the company’s mission. Terry Emmert is a seasoned national security executive who has led some of the Department of Defense’s most complex and consequential organizations through periods of transformation and strategic change. Two presidential transition teams have sought support, most recently as Acting Secretary of the Navy, guiding an 814,000-person department facing a historically complex budget formulation. Previously, he served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, overseeing a $16 billion enterprise encompassing DARPA and the Missile Defense Agency. With over three decades of leadership across defense, technology, and industry, he has consistently driven innovation, operational excellence, and mission impact. His experience is steeped in accelerating the transition of emerging technologies to the field, strengthening industrial competitiveness, and building lasting partnerships across government, industry, and allied nations.
Early in his career, Terry held senior executive and consulting roles in both government and the private sector, including at DARPA, IBM, and EMC, where he led initiatives to modernize logistics systems, optimize global manufacturing networks, and deliver measurable cost and performance improvements. A proud Naval Academy Graduate and Distinguished Graduate of the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, he holds advanced degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Naval Postgraduate School.