Austin McKinney is an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School, where he is a Tillman Scholar. He is also a captain in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and works with Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) to provide capital to defense tech start-ups to solve national defense problems.
McKinney previously served in the active duty Air Force, focusing on technology and international affairs. As an acquisitions officer, he partnered with the U.S. defense industry and international allies to develop military weapon systems to support global security. McKinney also completed several international assignments, including in Qatar, Colombia, and Honduras.
McKinney studied as a Marshall Scholar at the London School of Economics and graduated academic valedictorian of his class at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He serves on the board of advisors for the YMCA of Boston's Chinatown and as an advisor to the Inter-American Foundation.
Featured Work
DEC 18, 2018 • Podcast
Climate Disaster Response in the Philippines, with Austin McKinney and Chetan Peddada
Pacific Delegates Austin McKinney and Chetan Pedada both have military backgrounds and technology expertise. They discuss ways in which machine-learning and military cooperation could help ...
DEC 6, 2018 • Article
It's Time for the U.S. and Chinese Militaries to Cooperate on HADR
Relations between the U.S. and China are at their lowest point in decades. Joint Humanitarian and Disaster Response (HADR) would provide an effective mechanism ...