Carla Zeppieri has 25 years of experience working in national security and government acquisition across Congress, industry, and the Department of Defense.
Prior to joining SMI, Carla served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience (IBR) at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), where she was responsible for assessing the health of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and recommending key policies, investments, and actions designed to strengthen the capacity and resilience of the DIB. During her tenure, IBR published the National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) Implementation Plan and addressed identified supply chain and industrial base risks through targeted investments and prioritization authorities exercised under the Defense Production Act (DPA) and the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program.
Carla also served in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs as the Acquisition and Sustainment Team Chief, developing and executing legislative strategy in support of Department of Defense priorities. Prior to joining the Department of Defense, she served as a Professional Staff Member on the House Armed Services Committee where she conducted oversight of research, development, and acquisition programs across the military services, and authored legislation in support of congressional priorities in the National Defense Authorization Act.
Earlier in her career, she held positions at Harris Corporation, Raytheon Company, and BAE Systems.
Carla is a graduate of Cornell University and began her career as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy.