Mark Esper

And then from there, I transitioned to an overseas assignment in Italy.

And my wife and I spent three years there.

I came back home, went to school at Harvard, graduated with a master's in public administration, and was assigned to the Pentagon as an army fellow.

At that point, I was 10 years into my career, and I decided I wanted to spend more time with my family.

Focused on that.

And and so I left the service.

I joined the reserves and then at the same time began a series of jobs on Capitol Hill, working in the House and Senate.

I did a two year stint as a deputy assistant secretary of defense.

And then after I left Capitol Hill in the mid 2000s or so, I went to work at a couple of associations like Aerospace Industries Association and the Chamber of Commerce.

I eventually found myself in corporate America working for the Raytheon company.

And then in 2017, I was asked to become Secretary of the Army.

And I served as Secretary of the Army for two and a half years or so, and then was picked by the president to become Secretary of Defense.

I was confirmed with 90 votes and did that for about 18 months.

And now I find myself in the time since the first administration, Trump administration ended, working in private equity and venture capital and consulting.

So that's what I'm doing.

That's what I've done.

And good to be with you here today.

Well, you know, in many ways, you hit the nail on the head for me.

I was always involved in athletics and sports.

Fitness has always been my thing.