The director of a Pentagon unit that works with technology companies withdrew his nomination to become the Defense Department’s undersecretary for acquisition due to an inspector general’s investigation into his office.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations have identified Michael Brown, a former Silicon Valley executive, as a leader in the Pentagon’s drive to streamline the military’s adoption of private-sector innovation and deny China access to U.S. technology.
Mr. Brown, who currently heads the Defense Innovation Unit, withdrew from consideration as undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment this week in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. In the letter, a copy of which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Brown said an investigation into the DIU by the Pentagon’s inspector general would delay his nomination for up to a year and so he would step aside.
The letter didn’t provide details on the investigation. A spokeswoman for the Pentagon’s inspector general declined to comment on the matter. A Pentagon spokesman declined to provide details on the investigation.
Mr. Brown didn’t respond to a request for comment. A DIU spokeswoman said Mr. Brown plans to remain director of the unit, but wouldn’t comment on the investigation.
Defense One, an online news site covering defense and national security issues, reported in April that a former DIU executive named Bob Ingegneri filed a complaint with the inspector general saying that a half-dozen employees, including himself, had received preferential treatment in hiring. Mr. Ingegneri didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The Pentagon created the DIU in 2015 to enhance relationships with commercial tech firms to better harness the rapid innovation of the private sector. The DIU maintains offices in Silicon Valley, Boston and other tech hubs.
Mr. Brown spent decades in the technology sector and was chief executive of Quantum Corp., a data storage company, and Symantec Corp. , a software and cybersecurity firm.
As a White House innovation fellow in 2018, he co-wrote a study arguing that Chinese investments into U.S. emerging technologies presented a national-security threat. The paper fed into a debate about closing off China’s access to American technology and factored into decisions to expand the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., an interagency group that reviews business deals for national-security concerns.
Later in 2018, Mr. Brown took over at DIU, where he assisted commercial tech firms in navigating the Pentagon. This April, President Biden nominated Mr. Brown for the undersecretary position. In that post, he was expected to use his knowledge of tech in making decisions on big-ticket acquisitions.
“It was a very clear signal to the tech industry and the entrepreneurs and the investors that innovation efforts and outreach that DOD has been doing are not going away,” said Sam Gray, the executive director of the Silicon Valley Defense Group, which provides technology research.
Write to Brett Forrest at [email protected]
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