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Building the Digital Foundation for Golden Dome

Modern software integration, resilient infrastructure and automation are central to realizing President Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Dome, an integrated, layered air and missile defense architecture designed to shield the nation from evolving threats.

Leaders from Red Hat and Microsoft discuss what it takes to build the digital foundation for faster decision-making, secure data sharing and mission success at scale.

Learn more about:

What it takes to move toward a layered missile defense architecture like the Golden Dome. Timestamp: 1:15.
How integrated software and modern infrastructure enable faster, more confident decision-making in missile defense environments. Timestamp: 2:45.
Where automation and AI can have the greatest impact on speed, coordination and mission outcomes. Timestamp: 5:15.

Featuring

Leigh Madden Vice President, National Security, Microsoft
Leigh Madden
- Vice President, National Security
- Microsoft
Leigh Madden drives mission-focused innovation as Microsoft’s Vice President of National Security, delivering advanced cloud, artificial intelligence, and edge capabilities to accelerate decision advantage and operational readiness for the U.S. defense and intelligence communities. His mandate: equip warfighters and mission leaders with secure, scalable technology at speed.

A former Navy SEAL officer turned tech executive, Leigh brings over two decades of industry experience fusing operational insight with cutting-edge solutions. His career reflects a relentless focus on mission impact:
- CEO, Epirus, Inc. – Spearheaded the growth of a defense tech disruptor developing high power microwave systems for counter-UAS operations. Achieved unicorn status in under 3 years. Secured the company’s first major military contract and positioned Epirus at the forefront of directed energy innovation.
- Defense & Intelligence Lead, Microsoft – Drove the evolution from enterprise IT to tactical edge and cloud solutions. Won Microsoft’s first major Department of Defense cloud contracts, enabling secure, agile capabilities across the force.
- Previous Leadership Roles – Led critical infrastructure and mission system programs at EMC, VMware, Applied Marine Technology, and SAIC, delivering solutions for high-consequence environments.
Leigh holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.
Chris Smith Vice President, North American Government Sales, Red Hat
Chris Smith
- Vice President, North American Government Sales
- Red Hat
Chris Smith is Vice President of North American Government Sales for Red Hat. In this role, he is responsible for public sector sales revenue growth for Red Hat’s products, services, and solutions.

Chris is a high-impact and entrepreneurial sales leader with demonstrated success building top-performing sales teams and growing revenue in the highly competitive US Federal Government and Federal Systems Integrator (FSI) market. He has extensive expertise in planning and executing market-specific sales strategies and a track record of exceeding target expectations.

Prior to joining Red Hat in 2022, he was Vice President for the federal software sales division of HCL, a next-generation global technology and software company that helps enterprises reimagine their businesses for the digital age.

Throughout his career, Smith has developed and led all aspects of software go-to-market strategies, marketing, and daily business operations.