Brian MacCarthy is the tech exploration lead for Booz Allen Ventures, our corporate venture capital fund. In addition to building The Helix, Booz Allen's Center for Innovation, he leads tech scouting teams in San Francisco, Austin, and Washington, DC, focused on finding and vetting non-traditional venture-backed startups and helping those companies gain adoption in the federal government.
Brian is also managing partner for our $100 million Venture Capital Fund, which invests in dual-use startups across artificial intelligence (AI), cyber, defense tech, and deep tech. Brian’s mission-driven leadership bridges the gap between the venture-backed startup and commercial ecosystem and the nation’s most pressing defense and national security challenges.
Brian has 20 years of experience in commercial and government consulting, including in healthcare, e-commerce, defense, and national security. Before leading Booz Allen Ventures, Brian launched our tech scouting practice. Under his leadership, it has become an instrumental approach to solving Department of Defense mission challenges while providing critical research and recommendations to inform Booz Allen’s broader strategic priorities.
Brian also built Booz Allen’s hackathon strategy, including organizing and leading the world’s largest DOD hackathon, the U.S. Navy’s HACKtheMACHINE digital experience. In 2017, HACKtheMACHINE won the Secretary of the Navy Award for Innovation Catalyst.
Before joining Booz Allen, Brian led sales organizations in New York and Washington, DC, focused on software, hardware, and telecom implementations.
A vocal advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Brian has served on Booz Allen’s DEI Executive Council since its inception and is executive sponsor of our Global Disabilities Business Resource Group. For more than 35 years, Brian has worked to help patients afflicted by cystic fibrosis, raising funds for a cure, and serving as a national spokesperson for the disease.
Brian earned his B.A. in communications and journalism from James Madison University.
