Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata (U.S. Army, Retired) most recently performed the duties of Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, the #3 position in the United States Department of Defense where he implemented the National Defense Strategy and worked closely with allies and partners to achieve strategic defense goals globally. His distinguished military career includes commands in the 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne Divisions and the 10th Mountain Division as well as operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Panama, and Haiti. His military awards include the bronze star, combat action badge, ranger tab, master parachutist badge, and department of defense award for distinguished public service.

In his civilian life, Mr. Tata leads his consulting firm, Tata Leadership Group, and is the managing partner of Boundary Channel Partners. Previously, he served as North Carolina’s Secretary of Transportation, Superintendent of Wake County Public School System (Raleigh, NC/Research Triangle), and Chief Operating Officer of Washington, DC Public Schools. As Secretary of Transportation, Tony managed 72 airports, two seaports, three railroads, 22 ferries, 88,000 miles of highway, and 100 transit systems. As superintendent of the 15th largest public education system in the country with 150,000 students, 170 schools, and 18,000 employees, Tony implemented innovative programming that led to the highest gains in low-income student proficiency and growth in the history of the system. He serves as an advisor to The Franchise Consulting Company where he participates in franchising operations of Elite Parking of America, Robot Labs, and a newco car wash company.

He is a West Point graduate with a Bachelor of Science and has two master’s degrees, one from the U.S. Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies in operational planning and another from the Catholic University of America in international relations. He was also a distinguished national security fellow at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government.