John J. Young, Jr.

John Jacob Young Jr. (born May 29, 1962 in Newnan, Georgia) was United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisitions) from 2001 to 2005 and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics from 2007 to 2009. He is the founder and principal of JY Strategies, LLC.

Early life and education John J. Young Jr. was educated at the Georgia Institute of Technology (bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering). Participating in Georgia Tech's cooperative education program, while in university, he worked for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas, where his work included engineering work for the F-16 Fighting Falcon and advanced fighter technology. Notable work as AT&L included endorsing a remarkable swap of DDG-1000 and DDG-51 shipbuilding contracts between two industry teams and implementing new acquisition practices, management approaches and requirements reviews. He left this post in 2009 and founded JY Strategies, LLC, where he specializes in providing strategic insight to firms on defense programs, the Department of Defense, the Congressional authorization and appropriations process and change management. In addition to his work with JY Strategies, Young was VP of Business Development for E6 Partners, working with former Deputy Secretary of Defense, Gordon England. John is also a member of the Board of Directors of Saab Defense USA, SRI International, Ultra Electronics, Tenax Aerospace, Satelles, Assured Information Security and the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He serves on the advisory board of Georgia Tech Research Institute and Stevens Institute of Technology Acquisition Innovation Research Center, and he is a Senior Fellow and a member of the Board of Regents of the Potomac Institute. John is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He served as Commissioner on the Congressional Intelligence Research and Development (R&D) Commission from January 2012- December 2013.