Lockheed hires former Pentagon AI lead as tech chief
Craig Martell, then the Defense Department's chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, testifying to a House Armed Services Subcommittee in March 2024. Photo by Mostafa Bassim / Anadolu via Getty Images
By
Ross Wilkers
Craig Martell led the development and rollout of a strategy for the Defense Department to adopt more artificial intelligence tools.
Lockheed Martin has hired a new chief technology officer in Craig Martell, formerly the Defense Department’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer from 2022 to 2024.
Martell will start at the company on Monday and report to John Clark, who has been senior vice president for technology and strategic innovation since January.
In Lockheed’s announcement Monday, the company cited Martell’s two-decade background across government and industry in leadership roles involving AI and other large-scale digital transformation efforts.
As the Pentagon’s first CDAO, Martell led the development and rollout of a strategy for the department’s adoption of AI and data analytics tools. Martell also was tasked with overseeing DOD’s work on establishing a framework for AI ethics and safety.
Martell most recently worked as chief AI officer at Cohesity. He took on the DOD CDAO role after a two-year stint at Lyft, where he was head of machine learning.
His career also includes senior roles at Dropbox and LinkedIn.