Aaron Dowd is Managing Director of Mellontikos, an international, diversified venture development company. From 2003-2013, he served as a Senior Advisor and Chief of Staff to The Honorable Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of Defense and U.S. Senator. Dowd has also advised the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He is on the Board of Directors of the University of Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST); and Mentor Foundation USA. Dowd holds a Master of Business Administration-Global Executive Program from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Marquette University.