Emil Michael
Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Emil Michael was born in September 1972 in Cairo, Egypt. His family came to the U.S. when he was a young child. He earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School.
Michael began his career as a strategy consultant in Massachusetts, then became an associate with Goldman Sachs in New York. He later served as an executive with an internet-telephony startup, which developed speech recognition technology.
Michael was a White House fellow during President Barack Obama’s first term, serving as a special assistant to the Secretary of Defense. He went on to work as a technology consultant in New York. He served as chief operating officer of Klout and was a member of the company’s board of directors. He became an executive at Uber in 2013. He was involved in ride-sharing development in China and Russia.
President Donald Trump nominated Michael as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in December 2024.
Michael is married to Julie. He is a Coptic Christian.
In the News…
Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael spoke about efforts to increase the domestic production of drones during the White House Drone Dominance event last week. He was joined by National Security Council Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka and Small Business Administration head Kelly Loeffler as officials from around 40 companies attended the meeting.
President Trump’s recent executive order gives government contractors until the end of 2026 to replace critical minerals and materials from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital issued a conditional loan to Performance Drone Works in July, and Under Secretary Michael said that similar investments would follow.
“The cavalry arrived here to meet your cavalry in private industry to make sure that we are not drone sufficient, from parity, but drone dominant,” the under secretary said. “In the next two weeks, you’ll see more of those deals. We’re building up capacity in America to ensure the supply chain is resilient and can serve your needs.”
Under Secretary Michael said in July, “Achieving Secretary Hegseth’s mandate for drone dominance requires a secure and resilient industrial base here at home. The Office of Strategic Capital is strengthening the domestic supply chain for critical drone components to ensure American manufacturers can deliver the lethal capabilities that our warfighters need.”
