How to Help Tech Cross the Valley of Death

Before departing the Pentagon’s Office of the CIO last year, Leslie Beavers helped shape the War Department’s evolving digital architecture. During her tenure at DOW, she supported initiatives such as Project Herald and Fulcrum aimed at advancing departmentwide modernization.

Now president and CEO of LB Insights, Beavers advises companies on refining mature technologies and aligning them with the department’s broader ecosystem, helping them cross the so-called “valley of death” between innovation and implementation.

Beavers spent more than three decades serving in the Air Force and as a DOW civilian, primarily in intelligence roles before transitioning to the Office of the CIO. Her shift to technology and oversight roles was informed by earlier experience in the private sector, where she focused on Lean Six Sigma and business process improvement. At the Pentagon, she worked to strengthen governance and resource allocation processes to accelerate capability delivery.