Hon. Michael Cadenazzi

The Honorable Michael Cadenazzi was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (ASW(IBP)) on September 23, 2025. He serves as the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment on industrial base matters and leads efforts to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and secure critical national‑security supply chains.

HON Cadenazzi brings more than two decades of experience as an entrepreneur and consultant in the aerospace and defense sector, having founded multiple companies in signals intelligence, data analytics, program analysis, and market strategy, and completing two successful business transfers. His work spans the full defense ecosystem—from space to undersea systems—and includes strategy, M&A, operations, supply chain, and organizational transformation for clients across the industrial base.

Before entering the private sector, he served ten years as a U.S. Navy cryptologic warfare officer, with assignments at NCTAMS WESTPAC in Guam, U.S. Sixth Fleet in Italy, and U.S. Naval Forces Europe in the United Kingdom.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tulane University and a master’s degree in electrical engineering, specializing in RF communications and signals intelligence, from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He was commissioned in 1995 through the Tulane NROTC program. 

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