Throughout his successful service in both the government and private sectors, Jaymie A. Durnan has demonstrated significant expertise in leadership and management, strategy development and execution, policy development, programming and budgeting, and systems acquisition. 

He currently serves as the Assistant to the Director for Strategic Initiatives at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. With a focus on deep systems analysis and rapid prototyping, the Laboratory is one of the Department of Defense’s premier federally funded research and development centers.

Mr. Durnan's previous private-sector experience includes service as a senior vice president and special counsel to the chairman of MacAndrews & Forbes Holding, Inc.; a product line manager at BAE Systems; a partner at Radius Capital Partners; and the managing member of Woodbury Hill Partners, LLC, a strategic advisory firm.

As a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service, Mr. Durnan served as the Special Assistant ("Chief of Staff") to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and as Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. In a subsequent administration, he served as Senior Advisor to the Chief Technology Officer and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. 

Mr. Durnan’s government service includes service as an aircraft carrier–based naval flight officer; an aide to the Chief of Naval Operations; an operations researcher on the Navy staff; a strategic planner in the Office Net Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense; an assignee to the staff of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, supporting arms control negotiations; and a military social aide to the President of the United States.

Mr. Durnan has received some of the highest Department of Defense noncombat awards, including the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service and the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, presented by the Secretary of the Navy to a civilian for specific courageous or heroic acts or exceptionally outstanding service of substantial and long-term benefit to the Navy, Marine Corps, or Department of the Navy.

Mr. Durnan currently serves in several board roles, including as a director of Siga Technologies, Inc.; director of Kimball Physics; affiliated faculty member at the George Mason University Center for Government Contracting; chairman of the Andrew W. Marshall Foundation; a member of the Advisory Board of the Hudson Institute Center for Concepts and Technology; and a member of the Advisory Board for Orthozon Technologies. He previously served as a director of MacAndrews & Forbes Worldwide Corp.; Swift Prepaid Solutions; kSARIA Corp.; Defensewerx; Antioch New England University; and Unity College.  

Mr. Durnan holds a BS degree from the United States Naval Academy, an MA degree from Georgetown University, and a JD degree from Georgetown University School of Law.