Frank Kendall III will be nominated by President Obama to replace Ash Carter as the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, the Pentagon announced.
Kendall’s nomination is one of four high-profile Department of Defense appointments the president plans to submit, along with Erin Conaton as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, James Miller as undersecretary of defense for policy and Jessica Lynn Wright as assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs.
“I am grateful that these talented and dedicated individuals have agreed to take on these important roles and devote their talents to serving the American people. I look forward to working with them in the comings months and years,” Obama said.
Kendall’s bio:
Mr. Frank Kendall is the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. He has more than 35 years of experience in engineering, management, defense acquisition and national security affairs in private industry, government and the military. He has been a consultant to defense industry firms, non-profit research organizations, and the Department of Defense in the areas of strategic planning, engineering management, and technology assessment. Mr. Kendall was Vice President of Engineering for Raytheon Company, where he was responsible for management direction to the engineering functions throughout the company and for internal research and development. Before assuming his current position, Mr. Kendall was a Managing Partner at Renaissance Strategic Advisors, a Virginia-based aerospace and defense sector consulting firm.
Within government, Mr. Kendall held the position of Director of Tactical Warfare Programs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the position of Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Strategic Defense Systems. Mr. Kendall is a former member of the Army Science Board and the Defense Intelligence Agency Science and Technology Advisory Board and he has been a consultant to the Defense Science Board and a Senior Advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mr. Kendall also spent ten years on active duty with the Army serving in Germany, teaching Engineering at West Point, and holding research and development positions.
Mr. Kendall is an attorney and has been active in the field of human rights, working primarily on a pro bono basis. He has worked with Amnesty International USA, where he served as a member of the Board of Directors, with Human Rights First, for whom he was an observer at Guantanamo, and with the Tahirih Justice Center, where he was Chair of the Board of Directors.
Mr. Kendall is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and he holds a Masters Degree in Aerospace Engineering from California Institute of Technology, a Master of Business Administration degree from C.W Post Center of Long Island University, and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.
