Alex Wagner is a national security executive with over 25 years of leadership experience across government, industry, and the non-profit sector. From 2022 to 2025, he served as the U.S. Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, overseeing the human capital enterprise of the Air Force and Space Force and shaping policies for nearly 700,000 service members and civilians. His leadership drove reforms in military recruiting, compensation, and quality-of-life programs, including a childcare strategy that cut wait list times by 25 percent.

Previously, Alex was Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at the Aerospace Industries Association, where he led defense industry-wide efforts on talent, diversity, and STEM education. He also served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Army, managing a $140 billion enterprise while launching initiatives to accelerate innovation, including the Army Rapid Capabilities Office and “Hack the Army.” Earlier in his career, he held senior roles in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and in the private sector.

Alex is a Pritzker Fellow at University of Chicago Institute of Politics, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, an adjunct professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, and serves on the National Advisory Board of Blue Star Families.