2025 Chairman’s Dinner
December 6th @ Westlake Village, CA
Change and progress don’t happen in a vacuum. They happen when small groups of mission zealots convene, prioritizing larger national imperatives over personal equities. Core to SVDG’s mission is to convene our network of senior and influential change agents, across the policy, investor, and founder/executive communities.
The yearly SVDG Chairman’s Dinner, held on the sidelines of the Reagan National Defense Forum, is one of SVDG’s most authoritative and meaningful convening events - An intimate, off-the-record evening where senior leaders from across government, industry, and the investment community come together for a candid conversation about the road ahead. Relationships formed and grown in the room shape real collaboration long after the night is over.
As SVDG marks its tenth anniversary, this year’s dinner offered a moment to reflect on how much the emerging defense technology landscape has shifted. Thanks to the efforts of our community, today we celebrate the existence of new companies, capital, technologies, and acquisition pathways that didn’t exist when we started. Looking ahead to our next 10 years, we are optimistic for continued success thanks to the brilliance of the people around our table: Members of Congress, DoW leadership, allied representatives, founders, and investors who are deeply committed to getting this right.
This year we were honored to be joined by the HON Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, and the HON Michael Dodd, Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies & Acting Deputy Director of DIU. Over a dinner conversation moderated by SVDG Board Member, Jacqueline Tame, HON Cadenazzi and HON Dodd shared perspectives on current Pentagon reform initiatives. Our Executive Director, Mike Keating, also charged our network to rely on SVDG and collaborate within our network as change permeates our ecosystem.
As we close out 2025, this year’s Chairman’s Dinner has put rocket fuel into our momentum for the coming year. We are eager to enable further progress from our community in 2026!
