Carol Eggert, Senior Vice President of Military and Veteran Affairs at Comcast-NBCUniversal; and Raj M. Shah, Technology Entrepreneur and Investor, Join CNAS Board of Advisors

Washington, D.C. August 28, 2018 – The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is pleased to announce today that Carol Eggert and Raj M. Shah have joined the CNAS Board of Advisors. Eggert is a retired U.S. Army Brigadier General who currently serves as Senior Vice President of Military and Veteran Affairs at Comcast-NBCUniversal. Shah is a technology entrepreneur and investor who was most recently Managing Partner of the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), now known as Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).

The CNAS Board of Advisors is comprised of leaders and experts with diverse backgrounds in the private sector, government, academia, and the military. As new members, Eggert and Shah will use their deep military and technology expertise to help guide the Center’s research agenda and expand its community of interest.

“In Carol and Raj, the CNAS Board of Advisors is adding two accomplished professionals with extraordinary experience and expertise,” said CNAS President Richard Fontaine. “Carol is a leading voice on military and veterans issues, and her experience will enhance the Center’s cutting-edge work in these areas,” Fontaine added. “And as CNAS continues to lead on issues at the intersection of security and technology, Raj’s background will help deepen our research on defense technology and connect it to an array of private and public sector stakeholders. We are delighted that Carol and Raj are joining our Board of Advisors.”

Eggert brings more than 30 years of military and veteran-advocacy experience to CNAS. In her current role, she leads a team that works collaboratively across Comcast-NBCUniversal to provide strategic leadership to programs and outreach to the military and veteran community. During her military career, she served in a variety of command and staff positions and completed numerous overseas deployments, including a 15-month combat tour in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as Chief of the Women’s Initiatives Division and Senior Liaison to the U.S. Embassy, Baghdad. Eggert is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, where she also served on the faculty and was later selected as the Deputy Commandant. She holds two master’s degrees in instructional design and strategic international studies, and a doctoral degree in organizational leadership. Carol serves on the Corporate Advisory Board for West Chester University, and the Boards of Directors for Valley Forge Military Academy, the Philly POPS, and PsychArmor.

As head of DIUx, Shah strengthened ties between the technology and defense communities, bridging both contractual and cultural divides. Most importantly, he helped build a world class team of military and civilian leaders focused on delivering innovation to the warfighter. Raj also serves as a reserve F-16 pilot in the US Air Force where he completed multiple combat tours. Previously, Raj was the Senior Director of Strategy at Palo Alto Networks, which acquired Morta Security, where he was CEO and Co-Founder. He holds an A.B. from Princeton University and an MBA from The Wharton School. He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and a Visiting Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.

For more information on the new Board of Advisors members, please contact Shawn Turner at [email protected] or 202-457-9400.