Lisa Hershman

Secretary Lisa Hershman is the former Chief Management Officer of the U.S. Department of Defense. As the third highest ranking official at the Pentagon, Hershman led operational reforms to a record-setting $37 billion in savings while also leading the more than $160 billion budget and 120,000 employees of the 28 Defense Agencies and Field Activities known informally as the Fourth Estate. Upon her departure from the Pentagon, she was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest civilian honor awarded by the Department of Defense.

Hershman has previously served in a number of senior corporate leadership roles, including Corporate Senior Vice President of Operational Excellence at Avnet, Inc. in which her work was honored with the Avnet Corporate Chairman’s Award. Hershman is also the internationally published coauthor of Faster Cheaper Better with the late Dr. Michael Hammer, and subsequently served as the CEO of Hammer and Company. Hershman has served as a Board Member for First Source Bank (SRCE). She previously served as the Vice Chair of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

Hershman earned her degree from Clarkson University studying engineering and industrial distribution. She has also studied innovation with MIT / IMD and has received Executive Certificates in Finance from Cornell University, Board Governance from the Wharton School at Penn, and Management from the London School of Economics.