James Shields

James Shields is currently an advisor at Assured Enterprises. Prior to this, they were the president and CEO of Draper Laboratory from February 2001 to October 2014.

Draper Laboratory is a not-for-profit laboratory that specializes in guidance, navigation, and control technology. Under Shields' leadership, the laboratory saw a nearly 60% increase in revenue, expanding and strengthening its sponsor base. James also established a new Civil Programs business sector and an intelligence information systems business thrust.

Shields has been a leader of several significant studies, including the 2012 DSB Summer Study on Technology-based Superiority in 2030, the 2011 DSB task force on the Role of Autonomy in DoD, the 2014 ASB study on Electronic Warfare for Army Air and Missile Defense Systems, and the 2008 Joint DSB/Intelligence task force on Integrating Sensor Collected Intelligence. James has also supported many other studies with the Defense Science Board, the National Academies, and in response to special requests from senior government officials.

Shields received their S.B. and S.M. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.