# Emil Michael

Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering and Department of Defense CTO. TIME100 AI 2026, Thinkers. Before becoming the Pentagon's chief technology officer, he was Uber's chief business officer from 2013 to 2017. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilmichael))

- Born: 1972, Cairo, Egypt ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Michael))
- Education: JD, Law, Stanford University, 1998; BA, Government, Harvard University, 1994 ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Michael), [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilmichael))
- Career: U.S. Department of Defense (Department of War) (Under Secretary for Research and Engineering and CTO, 2009 to now); Uber (Chief Business Officer, 2013–2017); Klout (Chief Operating Officer, 2012–2013); Technology Advisory and Consulting Services (President, 2011–2017); Tellme Networks (Co-founder; SVP of Field Operations, 1999–2008); Goldman Sachs (Investment Banking Associate, 1998–1999) ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilmichael), [war.gov](https://www.war.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/Article/4232659/emil-michael/), [en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Michael))
- TIME profile: https://time.com/collection/time100-ai/2026/emil-michael/
- Profile: https://www.autumn.ai/resources/most-influential-people-in-ai/emil-michael

- Born in Cairo and raised in New Rochelle, New York, where he worked in his father's pharmacy as a kid. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Michael))
- Left Goldman Sachs after a year to help start Tellme Networks, an automated phone-system company, in 1999. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Michael))
- Spent 2009 to 2011 as a special assistant to the Secretary of Defense, between Silicon Valley jobs. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilmichael))
- Was Uber's Chief Business Officer from 2013 to 2017, after a year as COO of social-scoring startup Klout. ([linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilmichael))