#187: NATO Leading Innovation - DIANA Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Benitez

The speed of innovation has long been the difference between military success and failure. Countries and militaries that rapidly develop, deploy and evolve technology thrive. Those who lag…flounder. America, NATO and the world order are being challenged…and innovated against…at a faster pace than ever before. 

From the Global SOF Symposium in Athens, Greece, I sat down with Ryan Benitez of NATO DIANA to talk about how innovation, technology, and rapid capability development are shaping the future of defense across the Alliance.

As the DIANA’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ryan explains her work inside one of NATO’s most forward-leaning organizations. DIANA, the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, connects startups, researchers, and industry leaders to solve some of the most urgent challenges facing allied militaries. 

From emerging technologies to dual-use solutions, DIANA is helping NATO move faster, stay adaptable, and maintain an edge in an increasingly competitive global environment.

Ryan also shared how her experience in the Navy and Venture Capital informs her approach to modern innovation, why collaboration between nations and private industry is more critical than ever, and how DIANA is empowering new ideas that can redefine readiness, resilience, and operational effectiveness to not only keep pace, but move faster than our enemies.

HIGHLIGHTS

• 0:00 Introduction
• 1:37 Welcome to GSOF Europe
• 3:06 Defining NATO DIANA
• 5:25 Companies Supporting NATO
• 9:23 Filling Technological Gaps
• 11:15 Time to Technology
• 13:44 NATO’s Leading Innovators
• 14:57 Compelling Countries To Invest
• 16:49 Is NATO behind Adversaries?
• 20:21 Defining Readiness
• 22:17 The Next Battlefield
• 24:40 NATO DIANA Future

Quotes:

• “We needed to access the emerging technologies that innovators were putting together.”
• “Does this technology align with a critical capability need that an operator and user has brought to the table?”
• “Team is everything.”
• “Interoperability has different scales.”
• “The flavor of the month is Counter-UAS.”
• “The Special Operations community has always been early adapters of streamlined acquisition and innovation.”
• “We’ve seen the Netherlands do a lot.”
• “We’re keeping a pulse on the market and the demand signal.”
• “How can we help you with your innovation base?”
• “We’re seeing a lot of lessons learned in Ukraine. The innovation cycle there is weeks.”
• “The word defense used to not be top of mind. It is now.”
• “We need to make sure we’re acting as a bridge to the emerging technology market.”
• “Cost is going to become an issue.”
• “War isn’t front and center every day like it is in Europe.”
• “You’re going to start seeing our ability to really rapidly spin up.”

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