Mr. Paul A. Brinkley serves as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense and Director, Task Force to Improve Business and Stability Operations—Iraq. In this role, he leads the economic revitalization and stabilization efforts in Iraq. Mr. Brinkley established the Task Force in June 2006 with the mission to improve economic conditions for the Iraqi people. At the time, unemployment exceeded 50% and economically motivated violence among idled workers was a key contributor to the escalating casualties among U.S. forces. Under his leadership, the Task Force, in support of Multi-National Force Iraq commanders, has restored jobs to thousands of Iraqis and helped bring stability and security to the country. Mr. Brinkley spends an average of two weeks every month in and throughout Iraq.
In 2004, Mr. Brinkley joined the Department of Defense and was appointed to modernize business practices and oversee annual investment of $4 billion on defense business modernization programs. He subsequently established and served as founding co-Director of the Business Transformation Agency (BTA), a governmental organization designed to accelerate improved finance, accounting, logistics, supply chain, and human resource management processes and associated systems within the Department. Since its inception, the BTA has received a number of awards and recognition by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Congress for significant, broad improvements in defense business practices.
Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Mr. Brinkley held a number of senior executive roles with technology companies. Mr. Brinkley received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University and has completed coursework requirements for a Ph.D. in operations research at North Carolina State University. A licensed professional engineer, he is the recipient of four U.S. patents, and has published research on process optimization, production economics, and artificial intelligence. Mr. Brinkley also served on the economic development advisory council to the Fujian Provincial Government in the People's Republic of China.
