Leigh Warner

Senior Associate (Non-resident), International Security Program
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Leigh Warner

Leigh Warner is the founder of InterCHANGE, a strategy and design accelerator. She advises senior executives in government and industry on strategy, innovation, risk, and change. Ms. Warner has worked with the Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and other U.S. government elements to develop new capabilities and implement business systems for complex global challenges and emerging futures. She has served as an appointed member of numerous federal government task forces and working groups, including Defense Science Board and Defense Business Board departmental-level reviews of science, technology and management systems. Ms. Warner has designed, advised, and implemented public-private initiatives that have received the nation’s highest recognition for design excellence, including the Presidential Design Award. Early in her career she was the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Special Projects and a White House Fellow.
 
Ms. Warner is a trustee of CNA and a National Association of Corporate Directors Governance fellow. She was CEO and managing partner of an institutional investment management firm investing in small and medium-sized companies on behalf of pension plans, municipalities, universities, and foundations. She was president of a management consultancy advising telecommunications and investment management clients. She was also president of an open innovation consortium of Fortune 100 corporations where she led identification of opportunities and risks created by emerging technologies and evolving global trends. Ms. Warner holds both an M.B.A. and a B.A. with distinction in all subjects from Cornell University. She was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service.