The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) invites you to attend a conversation with SAIC’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Defense Systems Customer Group Jim Scanlon. Mr. Scanlon is responsible for leading strategy, business development, and program execution for approximately $2.9 billion in support to the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and Defense Logistics Agency. The discussion will explore the implications of the growing emphasis on technology competition with near peers and how the benefits of big data and artificial intelligence, highlighted in the Army Future Command data strategy, could be brought to the operating force. These overarching issues have important implications for technical services companies, whether they develop algorithms or balance system engineering tradeoffs. Jim Scanlon will discuss not only the role SAIC may play, but will also analyze the larger services market as it has been shaped by the complexity of multi-domain operations that are reliant on a diverse mix of interacting systems.   The purpose of the Main Street Defense event series is to highlight the unique opportunities and challenges faced by ‘Main Street’ companies in the defense industry. By broadening the conversation to include entities headquartered in America’s towns and cities beyond the top five defense contractors, and by providing a public platform for discussion, CSIS engage new voices and provides a setting for a dialogue on important factors affecting the entire defense and security sector today, different from those that we usually hear about.   Mr. Andrew Hunter will moderate the discussion with Mr. Scanlon. Please join us on Thursday, January 23 for this timely conversation. This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.   Featuring