BluGlass, in partnership with Deloitte, is delighted to invite investors, policy makers, and industry leaders to an evening with Major General John Wharton (Ret.), exploring defence resilience, sovereign supply chains, mobilisation readiness, and critical technologies shaping future capability.
Major General John F. Wharton is a retired Major General of the United States Army with more than three decades of service spanning logistics, science and technology, and national security innovation. A career Army logistician, he culminated his military service as Commanding General of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground.
At RDECOM, he led over 13,800 scientists, engineers and support personnel across more than 100 global locations, overseeing approximately 75% of the Army’s research and development budget. He directed the Army Research Laboratory and five major R&D centres spanning armaments, aviation and missile systems, communications and electronics, soldier systems, ground vehicles, and chemical and biological defence. In this role, he was central to strengthening the United States’ defence industrial base and advancing sovereign technology capabilities critical to national security.
Before RDECOM, he served as the Commanding General, U.S. Army Sustainment Command at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois responsible for global sustainment and industrial base of Army, Joint and Coalition forces and logistics for the Army’s 82 bases and installations. Prior to that he was the Chief of Staff at the U.S. Army Materiel Command in Huntsville, Alabama . He also served as Commanding General, AMC-Southwest Asia/U.S. Army Central G-4/Combined Forces Land Component Command C-4 for OPERATIONS IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM.
Today, General Wharton advises U.S. Government agencies, allied nations, international governments, industry and academia on defence innovation, supply chain resilience, and critical technology acceleration – where he supports the development of next-generation defence innovation ecosystems linking government, defence primes, venture capital, start-ups and research institutions.
When: Tuesday 10 March 5pm
Where: Deloitte, Quay Quarter Tower, 50 Bridge Street
Free to attend: Registration required
RSVP: Secure your tickets here
On the agenda:
- U.S. defence priorities and allied implications: procurement windows and capability gaps.
- Sovereign supply chains: policy levers shifting focus from efficiency to resilience.
- Mobilisation readiness: industry’s role in surge capacity and national preparedness.
- Critical technologies: AI, microelectronics, advanced materials, and other enablers.
- Allied collaboration: AUKUS, Indo‑Pacific partnerships, joint industrial bases.
- Nation building: strategic investment in defence and deep‑tech ecosystems.
