NOW: Navigating A World in Transition

The nature of global conflict is changing rapidly. In this episode of the NOW podcast, recorded live in Lexington, Kentucky, Brown Advisory’s Sid Ahl sits down with Christine Fox, former Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense and senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and Admiral Gary Roughead, former Chief of Naval Operations, to examine a world being reshaped by geopolitical competition and rapidly advancing technology. From the growing role of AI and autonomous systems on the battlefield to weapons shortages and the challenge of producing them at the speed and scale today’s conflicts demand, they explore how the United States can adapt to a security landscape moving at extraordinary speed. The conversation also includes China, the future of warfare and a fundamental question: Are our institutions moving quickly enough to keep pace with our world in transition?

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Guests

Admiral Gary Roughead

Former Chief of Naval Operations

Admiral Gary Roughead, US Navy (Ret.), is the Robert and Marion Oster Distinguished Military Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Admiral Roughead is a graduate of the US Naval Academy whose naval career culminated in serving as the chief of naval operations, the senior officer in the US Navy. In that role he was a member of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Prior to that, he held six operational commands and is one of only two officers in the navy’s history to have commanded both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets. Admiral Roughead serves on the boards of directors of the Northrop Grumman Corporation and Maersk Line Ltd.; is a trustee of Dodge and Cox Funds and of the Johns Hopkins University; serves on the Board of Managers of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; is the chair of the National Academy of Sciences Naval Studies Board; and chairs the US Export-Import Bank’s Committee on China Competition. He cochaired the congressionally appointed commission that reviewed the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy, recently cochaired a Council on Foreign Relations task force addressing America’s response to China’s One Belt One Road initiative, and remains active in nongovernmental policy fora with Japan and China.

The Honorable Christine Fox

Former Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense and Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

The Honorable Christine H. Fox is a director of Brown Advisory Incorporated and Brown Investment Advisory and Trust Company. She is a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Prior to her appointment as a Senior Fellow, Ms. Fox served as the Assistant Director for Policy and Analysis at JHU/APL from May 2014 until January 2022. As the nation’s largest University Affiliated Research Center, APL performs research and development on behalf of the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other federal agencies. The Laboratory has more than 8,000 staff members who are making critical contributions to a wide variety of nationally and globally significant technical and scientific challenges. Previously, she served as Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense between December 2013 and May 2014 and, prior to that, Ms. Fox served as the Director, Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation from 2009 to 2013. In that position, she was the principal civilian advisor to the Secretary of Defense for analyzing and evaluating plans, programs, and budgets in relation to U.S. defense objectives and resource constraints. Prior to her government service, Ms. Fox served as the President of the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA), a Federally Funded Research and Development Center and as the scientific analyst to the Chief of Naval Operations. During her 28-year career at CNA, Ms. Fox oversaw analysis of real-world operations, from the first Gulf War and the operations in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s, to the operations in Afghanistan immediately following the September 11th attacks, and the operation in Iraq in early 2003. From 2003-2005, Ms. Fox served as a member of NASA’s Return to Flight Task Group, chartered by the NASA Administrator to certify the recommendations made by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Currently, Ms. Fox serves on the governing committee for the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She is also a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ms. Fox earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and a Master of Science degree in applied mathematics from George Mason University. She is a three-time recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal. She has also received the Department of the Army’s Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service, the Naval Heritage Award and an honorary doctorate from Johns Hopkins University (Doctorate of Humane Letters).

Moderator

Sid Ahl, CFA

Director of Equity Research, Sustainable Investing, Brown Advisory

Sid is a partner, a member of the Executive Team, serves as co-chief investment officer for private client, endowments and foundations, and as head of the New York office. He is responsible for advising individuals and institutions on investment portfolios that contain significant allocations to alternative investments and have a high tolerance for less liquid investments. Prior to joining Brown Advisory in 2012, he was a partner and director of research at CDK for 10 years, where his initial focus was on hedge fund manager research and the design of hedge fund portfolios. Prior to CDK he was a senior consultant with FactSet Research, advising hedge funds, institutional investors and private wealth managers in the areas of portfolio risk management and quantitative modeling.