CAPT. ROB NEWSON, USN RETIRED (SEAL)

Leadership Consultant, Anti-Cancer Catalyst

Dr. Rob Newson, Ph.D., is a partner at Bravo Victor Venture Capital and is accountable for the firm’s day-to-day portfolio support operations. Immediately before joining the Fund, Rob was the VP of Strategy and Vision at the Philadelphia 76ers. Rob served 30 years in the United States Navy, rising to the rank of Captain as a Navy SEAL. He is a “start-up” specialist, having led or been a part of six separate new military organizations over twelve years, including two national strategic planning elements and a first-of-its-kind organization designed to collect and integrate battlefield intelligence (Special Reconnaissance Teams) to identify and disable terrorist networks. He also served as the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the White House Military Office, responsible for all military support to the President of the United States. In the Navy, he served fourteen years as a strategist – working with small, multi-disciplinary work groups, teaming across organizations and government agencies, analyzing and framing complex challenges, combining alternative solutions in creative ways, and writing about critical national security issues. Rob was hand-selected by the Chief of Naval Operations to serve as the Navy Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. He holds a BS in computer science from the University of Kansas. He is a graduate of the Naval War College and Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). Graduating with Distinction from NPS, he holds an MS in Defense Analysis (Special Operations / low-intensity conflict) and an MA in National Security Affairs (Strategic Studies). He also holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego.Rob is a cancer survivor and catalyst for #SwarmCancer in the military, focusing on building an “assembly line” of support to the Special Operations Community, which is hard hit by cancer.