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Di2 Summit, November 5
Defense Innovation Meets Opportunity
Your Next Customer Could Be the U.S. Government.
You don’t have to be a traditional defense contractor to do business with the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security.
Where are Armed Services and Homeland Security finding the technology they need? Find out at the Defense: Innovate and Integrate Summit, presented by Detroit… Hosted by Oakland County.
Both agencies are actively looking beyond their usual supplier base, and Di2 is bringing the organizations that make those connections directly to Southeast Michigan.
- Thursday, November 5, 2026 | 8 AM – 5 PM
- San Marino Club, 1685 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, MI 48083
- $250 per person
No refunds after Oct 16. Includes a continental breakfast, a hot Italian lunch, a cocktail reception, and hearty hors d’ouevres will be served.
Meet leaders from DEFENSEWERX, ERDCWERX, HSWERX, SOFWERX and FLEETWERX and learn how their innovation networks connect companies, entrepreneurs, and researchers to opportunities across the Army, Navy, Department of Homeland Security, and other federal missions
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What Is WERX?
Think of it as an open front door into federal government contracting.
These hubs help government agencies find technologies and capabilities outside the traditional procurement system. They also help companies understand the opportunities, connect with mission owners, and navigate from first introduction to prototype, contract, or partnership.
What is SOFWERX?
SOFWERX connects U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) with innovative companies, startups, researchers and nontraditional defense partners to rapidly identify and develop solutions to real-world special operations challenges. Through collaborative events, technology assessments and rapid prototyping, SOFWERX provides innovators a more accessible pathway to put promising technologies in front of the Special Operations community.
At Di2, you’ll learn:
- What the government is looking for
- Where upcoming opportunities are emerging
- How these innovation and contracting pathways actually work
- How to position your technology or capability for consideration
- How companies that have never considered themselves defense contractors can enter the market
Is This For You?
If your company works in autonomy, AI, robotics, drones, advanced manufacturing, mobility, energy, materials, sensors, software, cyber, engineering, or other emerging technologies, something that the government needs may be something your company makes.
You don’t have to sell to defense today to belong in the room. DEFENSEWERX and its hubs exist specifically to bring in companies that aren’t currently serving defense.
You bring the capability. They bring the mission. Di2 brings you together.
You bring the capability. They bring the mission. Di2 brings you together.
DEFENSE: INNOVATE & INTEGRATE (Di2)
November 5, 2026 | San Marino Club | Troy, Michigan
From Capability to Contract: Connecting American Industry to the Defense Mission
Di2 connects small and mid-sized businesses, nontraditional suppliers, manufacturers and technology companies with defense mission requirements and practical pathways into the Department of War marketplace.
- 8:00-8:30 Registration, Breakfast & Networking
- 8:30-8:37 Welcome: Growing the Defense Innovation Ecosystem in Southeast Michigan
- DRDC Leadership and Elected Officials
- 8:40-9:00 WHERE DEFENSE IS GOING | The Next Defense Technology Frontier
- Barbara McQuiston | Principal, BKM Tech, Inc. | Former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering | Former Chair, NATO DIANA
Current and future defense technology needs—where will the Department of War focus its attention and investment next?
Barbara McQuiston brings a rare insider’s perspective on the technologies shaping the future of national security. A former Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering and Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Research and Technology, she also served as Chair of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), helping build a transatlantic ecosystem to accelerate emerging and dual-use technologies.
Drawing on decades of experience spanning government, industry, venture investment and technology commercialization, McQuiston will explore the emerging technologies poised to reshape defense—including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, robotics and autonomy, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and other disruptive capabilities—and what shifting priorities mean for companies seeking to participate in the defense marketplace.
Her session will give attendees a current and forward-looking view of where defense technology is going, what capabilities are gaining attention, and where industry should be preparing for the opportunities ahead.
- 9:05-9:50 PATHWAY ONE | The Future of Defense Production: AI, Innovation & Advanced Manufacturing is in Detroit
- Panel: Bryan Wisk | Founder & CEO, Autonomous Resource Corporation (ARC)
Bryan Wisk is Co-Founder and CEO of Autonomous Resource Corporation (ARC), an advanced manufacturing technology company developing AI-enabled, distributed production capabilities for national security. ARC is partnering with Oak Ridge National Laboratory on the Exascale Foundry, an initiative combining AI, high-performance computing, advanced materials and autonomous manufacturing to accelerate the development and production of critical defense components.
At Di2, Wisk will bring an industry perspective on how AI and advanced manufacturing are changing defense production—and the opportunities these technologies create for innovative manufacturers and suppliers.
- 9:50-10:10 Networking Break
- 10:10-10:30 PATHWAY TWO | From Commercial Innovation to Defense Solution
- Brian Liesveld | Chief Executive Officer, DEFENSEWERX
For companies that have innovative solutions but aren’t sure how to break into the defense market, this session will provide a practical look at where to enter, how to engage and how innovation moves from a commercial capability toward a defense solution.
How does an innovative company—particularly one that has never worked with the Department of Defense—get its technology in front of the right people and turn a great idea into a real defense opportunity?
Brian Liesveld is CEO of DEFENSEWERX, the organization behind a growing network of innovation hubs that connects defense organizations with businesses, entrepreneurs, universities and other nontraditional problem-solvers. Through these innovation ecosystems, DEFENSEWERX helps government customers identify and rapidly evaluate technologies and solutions addressing real-world mission needs.
Liesveld brings extensive experience at the intersection of defense requirements, research, technology development and commercialization. His career has included leadership of rapid prototyping and innovation programs, management of major defense research initiatives, and work connecting government technology requirements with universities, industry and emerging innovators.
At Di2, Liesveld will demystify the defense innovation ecosystem—explaining how DEFENSEWERX and its innovation hubs work, how companies can engage, and how challenge-based opportunities can provide a pathway for nontraditional businesses to bring their technologies and capabilities to the Department of Defense.
- 10:35-11:45 Inside the DEFENSEWERX Innovation Hubs: Where Industry Meets the Mission
- Janice Karcher | Deputy Director, ERDCWERX (Engineering, R&D Center)
- Morgan Bower | Director, FLEETWERX (Navy/Marines)
- Craig Zamary | Director, HSWERX (Homeland Security)
- Leslie Babich | Director, SOFWERX (Special Operations)
Moderator: Brian Liesveld
How can your company get its technology in front of the federal agencies that need it?
Meet the leaders helping make those connections. This panel brings together representatives from four DEFENSEWERX innovation hubs, each providing industry, entrepreneurs and researchers a pathway to engage with distinct federal mission partners:
Janice Karcher, Deputy Director, ERDCWERX —Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) connects innovative existing/experienced government contractors and those interested in becoming contractors with the infrastructure, environmental technologies, information technology and other federal government research priorities. Opportunities span military engineering, advanced materials, infrastructure, environmental technologies, information technology and other Army research priorities.
Morgan Bower, Director, FLEETWERX — Connecting industry and innovators with the Naval Postgraduate School and the broader naval innovation ecosystem, with opportunities in areas including maritime technology, autonomy, commercialization and technologies addressing Navy and fleet challenges.
Craig Zamary, Director, HSWERX — Connecting innovative companies and technologies with the Department of Homeland Security and its mission components to address homeland-security challenges, including emerging technology, AI and other capabilities that can be rapidly applied to operational needs.
Leslie Babich, Director, SOFWERX — Connecting innovators with U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), helping identify, assess, prototype and accelerate technologies addressing some of the most demanding challenges facing Special Operations Forces.
Together, these leaders will explain how the WERX model works, what their government partners are looking for, how companies can engage, and how innovative commercial technologies can move from an introduction or challenge to evaluation, prototyping and potential government opportunities.
For companies that have technology with potential defense or federal applications—but don’t know where to start—this is an opportunity to hear directly from the people whose job is to open those doors and connect solutions with mission needs.
- 11:45-12:45 Lunch
Afternoon Agenda is Pending
Become a Sponsor — Di2 Summit 2026
Put your brand in front of 250 local, state, and federal leaders in defense, manufacturing, and technology. Sponsoring the Di2 Summit means brand visibility, targeted marketing, thought leadership, and direct access to buyers and decision-makers shaping national security contracting.
Sponsorship Packages
Platinum — $10,000
4 tickets • Exhibitor table • Opportunity to speak at the cocktail reception • Signage • On-stage recognition during the program • Video shown during breaks (produced by sponsor) • Logo on event website
Gold — $7,500
4 tickets • Exhibitor table • Signage • On-stage recognition during the program • Video shown during breaks (produced by sponsor) • Logo on event website
Silver — $5,000
2 tickets • Exhibitor table • Signage • Video shown during breaks (produced by sponsor) • Logo on event website
Bronze — $2,500
2 tickets • Exhibitor table • Signage • Logo on event website
Booth — $1,000
2 tickets • Exhibitor table • Listed on event website
Don’t see what you want to do? Let us work with you to design a package that works for you.
Contact us to secure your sponsorship: 👉 Hello@TheDRDC.org | (586) 210-0562
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