Geoffrey Odlum
Board member at large
Geoff is a global security consultant and former U.S. diplomat with 28 years of experience in national security, international relations, and interagency policymaking. Geoff worked at the US State Department as a Foreign Service Officer from 1989 to 2017, serving in London, Algiers, Vienna, Istanbul, Baghdad, Kabul, and Washington DC, working on issues including European and Middle East security, nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear security, counterterrorism, energy geopolitics, emerging technologies, and civ-mil coordination in conflict areas. During his career at State Geoff directed two offices of 30+ staff, led teams in dangerous environments, negotiated several nuclear security agreements, managed $7M foreign assistance counter-nuclear smuggling program, and represented State Department at global Summits, Ministerial events, and UN/multilateral organizations. Geoff retired from the State Department in November 2017.
In February 2018 started a consulting company, Odlum Global Strategies (www.odlumglobal.com), which helps emerging tech companies working on AI and machine learning, blockchain, cyber-security, data analytics, and human-machine teaming do business with the State Department and other USG agencies. Geoff also serves as a Senior Advisor at FutureGrasp (www.futuregrasp.com), which conducts research for clients on the impacts of new technologies on national security and commercial risk and tracks the global development of AI National Plans. Geoff has also served as a speaker and panel expert at UN-hosted dialogues on “Artificial Intelligence and Security” in New York, April 2019, and Shanghai, December 2018, and as a Special Government Expert (SGE) consultant with the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (www.nscai.gov). ​
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Geoff has served as U.S. Special Operations Forces training instructor and subject matter expert (SME) with Motive International (www.motiveinternational.com) since April 2018, instructing Motive’s innovative “Governance and Counter-Governance Course” to the US Army’s 95 Civil Affairs Brigade (92nd CA BN, 98th CA BN), 83rd CA BDE, 1st Special Forces Group, 3rd Special Forces Group, and 21st TSG (EUCOM), as well as serving as an SME and role-player at USACAPOC Command Post Exercises at Fort McCoy, WI in January and July 2019 and San Antonio TX in February 2020. Geoff has mentored technology entrepreneur teams participating in FedTech’s startup studios (www.fedtech.io) in Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, and Fall 2020, as well as FedTech’s Winter 2018 pre-accelerator course. Geoff mentored teams seeking to commercialize technology from the US Army Research Lab (USARL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Sandia National Laboratory, on cyber-security, machine learning-based structural integrity assessment, deep brain stimulation, and counterfeit semiconductor detection. Geoff also advised three South Korean companies in the biometric security and aerospace sector on expanding US market access under auspices of FedTech’s Summer 2019 Accelerator program with the Korea Innovation Center (KIC).