Honorable Ryan D. McCarthy is an Operating Partner at AE Industrial, bringing deep expertise in the defense and aerospace sector. In September 2019, he was confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate and sworn in as the 24th Secretary of the U.S. Army and served in the role until January 2021. In August 2017, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and appointed as the 33rd Undersecretary of the U.S. Army. Prior to his confirmation as the Undersecretary of the U.S. Army, Honorable McCarthy worked for Lockheed Martin in sequential vice president roles responsible for the sustainment, customer solutions and program integration of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Previously, Honorable McCarthy was a special assistant to the 22nd Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama. Honorable McCarthy served in the U.S. Army and was deployed in combat operations during the invasion of Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 75th Ranger Regiment, U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. In 2019, Honorable McCarthy was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.