Creative Disruptors Podcast

Episode 5: The Hon. James Mazol — Faster Yeses, Faster Noes

Creative Defense Foundation — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 13:30:00 +0000

Recorded live at Creative Disruptors by the Lakes in Saint Paul, CDF Advisory Board Member Mike MacKay sits down with the Honorable James Mazol, Deputy Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, to discuss how the Department is aligning its R&D priorities, why faster yeses and faster noes matter for industry, and how AI is driving a revolution in military affairs.

Episode 4: John Conafay, Integrate — Nodes in the Network

Creative Defense Foundation — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 18:26:04 +0000

Recorded live at Creative Disruptors by the Lakes in Saint Paul, CDF Advisory Board Member Susan Miller sits down with John Conafay, CEO and co-founder of Integrate, which builds cross-boundary, real-time collaboration software for the defense industrial base.

Episode 3: Jennifer McArdle, Helsing US — Invent It Here, Build It Here

Creative Defense Foundation — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 16:54:36 +0000

CDF Advisory Board Member Susan Buikema-Miller sits down with Dr. Jennifer McArdle, General Manager of Helsing U.S., for a conversation on closing the gap between inventing and building critical defense technologies in America.

Episode 2: Jim Juster, DON Rapid Capabilities Office — Placing the Right Bets

Creative Defense Foundation — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000

CDF’s Mike MacKay sits down with Jim Juster, Deputy Director of the Department of the Navy Rapid Capabilities Office (DONRCO), for a conversation on how the Navy is getting new capability to the fleet faster.

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Introduction and Navy Rapid Capabilities Office Overview
(00:01:19) - Origins: Plug and Play and the Dark Typhon Example
(00:04:12) - Social Engineering and Risk-Taking Across Programs
(00:06:43) - Structuring Rapid Capability Cells Across the Enterprise
(00:09:12) - Avoiding Duplication and Managing Experimentation
(00:11:15) - The New Consortium: Breaking Down Problems and Needs
(00:12:53) - Capability vs Widget: Defining What's Needed
(00:14:46) - Sourcing Tech via Prize Challenges and Multiple Vendors
(00:16:38) - Reducing Industry Risk and Avoiding Bad Behaviors
(00:19:25) - Intrapreneurs and the Internal Startup Mindset
(00:21:02) - Year One Results: 38 Bets and Mission Areas
(00:23:45) - Why This Consortium: Digital Esperanto and Composability
(00:25:26) - Scaling Industrial Base and Avoiding Single-Vendor Risk
(00:26:31) - How Industry Should Engage with Don RCO
(00:29:10) - Dual Use Technology and Closing Thoughts

Episode 1: Paul Lemmo, Lockheed Martin — Rethinking the Defense Business Model

Creative Defense Foundation — Wed, 13 May 2026 10:50:53 +0000

CDF Founder and Chairman Rich Carroll sits down with Paul Lemmo, VP and General Manager of Lockheed Martin's Sensors, Effectors and Mission Systems line of business, for a conversation on the business models reshaping defense. Rich and Paul talked about R&D funding, new munitions deals pairing industry capital with multi-year government commitments, and how primes are partnering with non-traditional autonomy companies to scale.

Chapters

(00:00:11) - Richard Carroll on Innovation and National Security
(00:01:41) - Lockheed Martin's Sensor, Effectors and Mission Systems Division
(00:02:58) - Defense Budget Officer on Self-Driving Programs
(00:04:47) - Defense Contracting: Fixed Price vs Cost+
(00:11:16) - Lockheed Martin Exploring Unmanned Surface Vehicles and Undersea
(00:15:51) - Paul Feist on Defending autonomy in the Defense Budget