#HDF25

About

Building on our inaugural conference on “Operationalizing Integration in the Indo-Pacific” that took place in Honolulu on January 16-17, 2024, the Pacific Forum proudly presents the Honolulu Defense Forum (HDF): 2025.

Designed as an annual event in Honolulu, this effort is run in partnership with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), and industry to create a regular forum for U.S. and allied representatives across defense industry, critical & emerging technologies, and economic security sectors, along with our closest regional allies and like-minded partners.

Themes

Operationalizing Urgency: What are the immediate actions and critical fixes needed to enhance readiness and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific?

Building and Sustaining Integrated Defense Capabilities: What is required to operationalize sustainment networks in the Indo-Pacific for deterrence and military operations and how do we leverage industry expertise and collaboration with allies to enhance logistical support and ensure strategic posturing?

Harnessing Critical Technologies at Scale: What critical technologies do we need to prioritize in high-intensity scenarios and how do we quickly integrate enabling technologies across defense systems and applications to advance information sharing and operations?

Driving Innovation and Competitiveness in Security Initiatives: What does optimal collaboration among industry, venture capital, and government look like to innovate and invest in security initiatives that address evolving threats and emerging opportunities in the region?

Building a Robust Industrial Base: What collaborative approaches will further enhance cooperation in defense procurement, industrial capacity, and supply chain resilience as well as bring opportunities for co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment with allies and partners?

Promoting Regional Security: Do our policies, resources, and operational planning align effectively to promote our regional security interests in the Indo-Pacific region? What more can the U.S. and its allies and partners do to reinforce security, promote a rules based international order, deter conflict and support each other against regional threats? How do we bring attention to, and combat, malign behavior and influence in the Indo-Pacific region?

Speakers and Distinguished Guests

Subject to Change (as of 12/09/2024)

Opening Welcome Dinner

Keynote Address

Admiral Samuel Paparo

Commander
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Admiral Phil Davidson, USN (Ret.)

Former 25th Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

General Joseph Dunford Jr.
USMC (Ret.)

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Honorable Mac Thornberry

Former U.S. Representative for Texas & Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee

Rear Admiral Robert P. Girrier, USN (Ret.)

President Emeritus
Pacific Forum International

Dr. David Santoro

President
Pacific Forum International

Featured Guests 

United States and Allies & Partners 

Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE)

Chairman of the Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation (CITI, U.S. House Armed Services Committee

Major General Jay Bargeron

Director, J5, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Ed Barnabas

Vice President and Chief Technologist
Booz Allen Hamilton

Doug Beck

Director Defense Innovation Unit and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense

Stefanie Beck

Deputy Minister of National Defence Canada

Alexander Bernard

Senior Managing Director
Cerberus

Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, USA (Ret.)

Former Director, Defense Intelligence Agency

The Honorable Kari Bingen

Director for Aerospace, Center for Strategic and International Studies, former Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security

Dan Blumenthal

Senior Fellow, 
American Enterprise Institute

Brigadier General Emmanuel Boiteau

Commander of the French Liaison Team and Senior Representative
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Michael Brown

Partner
Shield Capital

James Corera

Director,
Cyber, Technology, and Security, Australia Strategic Policy Institute

Ralph Cossa

President Emeritus and WSD-Handa Chair,
Pacific Forum

Brigadier General Patrick Costello, USA

94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command

Senior Undersecretary Irineo Cruz Espino

Senior Undersecretary of National Defense, Department of National Defense of Philippines

Major General John Edwards

Director of Global Power Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics

Scott Farr

Executive Director,
Business Development, Contested Logistics Solutions, Boeing

General Charles Flynn, USA (Ret.)

Former Commander, U.S. Army Pacific

Heather Fortuna Bush

Senior Vice President
 Booz Allen Hamilton

Jeffrey Frankston

Director of Policy, Analysis, and Transition, Office of Industrial Base Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment

Raquel Garbers

Visiting Executive,
Centre for International Governance Innovation, Canada

Major General Gavin J. Gardner, USA
Commanding General
8th Theater Sustainment Command, U.S. Army

Marcus Garlauskas

Director, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, Atlantic Council

Brad Glosserman

Deputy Director of and Visiting Professor, Tama University Center for Rule Making Strategies

Phoebe Greentree

Minister Counsellor AUKUS 
Australian Department of Defense

Nini Hamrick

President,
Vannever Labs

Admiral Harry Harris, USN (Ret.)

Former 24th Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea

John Hemmings

Professor,
DKI APCSS College of Security Studies

Major General Steve Hunter OMM, MSC, MSM, CD
Commander
Canadian Special Operations Forces Command 

Colonel Michael Hlad

C4 Operations Division Chief for Command, Control, Communications and Cyber, (J63),
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

 Andrea Inserra

Executive Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

Aki Jain

CTO & President, 
U.S. Government Business, Palantir

Jakub Janda

Director
European Values Center for Security Policy 

Keith Johnson

Director Department of the Defense Solutions Architecture
Amazon Web Services

Cathy Johnson

Vice President Mission Integration
Peraton

Vice Admiral Justin Jones, AO, CSC

Chief of Joint Operations
Australian Department of Defence

Brigadier General Martine S. Kidd, USA
Director for Logistics & Engineering (J4)
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Eugene Kim

Chairman
Korea Defense Industrial Association

Admiral Stephen T. "Web" Koehler, USN
Commander
U.S. Pacific Fleet

Hiroshi Koyama
Fellow Defense & Space Systems Group
Mitsubishi Electric Company

Kimberly Lehn
Senior Director
Pacific Forum

Tom Mahnken
President & CEO
Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments 

Whitney McNamara

Senior Vice President 
Beacon Consulting Group

Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery

CCTI Senior Director & Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense Democracies

Ambassador (Ret.) James Moriarty

Former Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan

Chris Murphy
AI Technical Director, Defense Innovation Unit,
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

 

Rear Admiral Ian Murray, AM

Head of Australian Defense Staff Washington 
Australian Department of Defence

Mark Newton
Defence Minister
Embassy of the United Kingdom

David Nockels

 First Assistant Secretary for Defence Trade, Regulation and Industrial Collaboration
Australia Department of Defence

Commodore Peter Olive (Ret.)

Senior Fellow
Pacific Forum

Om Prakash

Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Northrop Grumman

Lichen Pursley

Director U.S. INDO-PACOM
General Atomics-ASI

Eric Quam

Director China Strategies Focus Group
U.S. Indo Pacific Command

Brandon Remington

Chief Strategy Office Office of Strategic Capital
U.S. Department of Defense

Major General Neil R. Richardson, USAF
Deputy Director of Operations (J30)

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Brad Roberts

Director, Center for Global Security Research
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory 

James Rogers

Co-Founder and Director of Research
 Council on Geostrategy 
United Kingdom

Jedidiah P. Royal

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs
U.S. Department of Defense

Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd

Deputy Commander
U.S. Indo Pacific Command

Congressman Pat Ryan (D-NY)

Vice-Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee

Colonel John Sattely (Ret.)

Executive Director for Contested Logistics 
ManTech

Eric Sayers

Board Member
Pacific Forum

The Honorable Michael Schiffer

Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Asia
U.S. Agency for International Development

Brigadier General Henrik Scholz 
Chief of the Department for Development, Planning and Innovation
German Air Force 
Headquaters 

The Honorable Randall G. Schriver
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Department of Defense

Major General Stefan Schulz 
Deputy Head of The Political Department in the Ministry of Defense in Germany

Demetrius Sevastopulo

Correspondent
Financial Times

Robert Stephenson 
Director (J8)
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Jen Stewart

Executive Vice President for Strategy and Policy
National Defense Industrial Association 

The Honorable David Stilwell

Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia
U.S. State Department

Sayako Sumomo

Director for International Cooperation Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency
Japan Ministry of Defence

Tyler Sweatt

Chief Executive Officer
Second Front Systems

Brigadier General (Ret.) Kenneth Todorov

Sector Vice President and General Manager, Global Battle Management and Readiness Division
Northrop Grumman &
Former U.S. Deputy Director of the Missile Defense Agency 

Hideto Tomabechi

President and CEO
Cognitive Research Labs, Inc

 Vaidotas Urbelis 

Defence Policy Director of the Ministry of National Defence Lithuania 

Major General Suzy Vares-Lum

Director
Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Strategic Studies 

Lieutenant General Joel Vowell

Deputy Commanding General  
U.S. Army Pacific

Drew Walter

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters
U.S. Department of Defense

Colonel Dave Washer

Director of Operations
U.S. Space Forces Indo=Pacific

The Honorable Katie Wheelbarger

Vice President for Global Program Support
Lockheed Martin &

Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Affairs 

Rear Admiral Jeromy Williams

Commander
Special Operations Command Pacific

Tom Wilson

Corporate Vice President, Enterprise Advanced Programs and Capabilities
Northrop Grumman

Huntley Wright

 Assistant Secretary for Capability Delivery New Zealand Ministry of Defence

Brigadier General Michael Zuhlsdorf

Director of Logistics, Engineering, and Force Protection
U.S. Pacific Air Forces

Sponsorship Available!

More information on sponsor ship can be found here: Sponsorships 

For questions regarding potential sponsorship, please contact 

Kimberly Lehn

Senior Director, Honolulu Defense Forum

kim@pacforum.org

Information

Dates

February 12-14, 2025

Information

Ms Kimberly Lehn

Senior Director, Honolulu Defense Forum

kim@pacforum.org

Ms Shanna Khayat

Communications & Outreach Manager

Shanna@pacforum.org

Location

Waikiki, Hawai'i