David Simpson

Education and Certification

• Executive Development - UNC Chapel Hill, Flagler School of Management (2008)
• M.S. in Systems Technology – Naval Postgraduate School (1993)
• BS in Mechanical Engineering, U.S. Naval Academy (1982)

Teaching

Rear Admiral (ret.) Simpson is a professor of practice with over thirty years of experience in the operation, procurement and policy of advanced technology products and services. His teaching experience includes MBA-level courses in Leadership and Ethics and MIT/ACIS courses in Cybersecurity for Business Leaders.

Professional/Business Experience

Prior to joining Virginia Tech, Professor Simpson served as the Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He leads a private consulting practice covering the Telecommunications, Defense and Public Safety sectors. His Flag Officer Assignments in the Navy include Senior Procurement Executive and Vice Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, Director of Navy Networks and CIO/J6 for U.S. and Coalition Forces in Iraq. He served over thirty years in the Navy in technology leadership positions around the world.

Research

Professor Simpson’s research experience spans mechanical, technical and policy fields.

His master’s thesis evaluated the use of DSP Satellite Cuing for Tactical Ballistic Missile Defense. In 1995 he led the Navy’s Future Military Satellite Communication Architecture effort and as a Flag Officer led several initiatives to define future mobile, cloud and cyber defense objectives for the Department of Defense. At the FCC he led numerous studies in the resiliency and cybersecurity of telecommunications services, Next Generation 9-1-1, the National Wireless and Emergency Alert Systems and economic considerations for BOTNET, 5g and Internet of Things cybersecurity risk reduction.

Professional Achievements

Rear Admiral Simpson received the 2017 Government Leader Award from the NextGen 911 Institute, a 2013 FED 100 Award  for Gov IT Leadership, and the Copernicus Award for career Navy IT achievement. He has received number of personal and unit awards from the Department of Defense and partner nation militaries. He served on the U.S. Delegation to the ITU -Worldwide Radio-Telecom Conference (WRC 2012) & Conference on International Telecom (WCIT 2013), Cyber Advisory Board for the AICPA Center for Audit Quality (CAQ). He has been a guest lecturer at Georgetown, UCLA and Harvard and provided keynote remarks for numerous government and trade associations.