Former Command Senior Enlisted Leader of USSOCOM Patrick McCauley Joins DCVC as Operating Partner

For 33 years, Patrick McCauley dedicated his life to the U.S. Armed Forces, culminating in a role leading our 82,000 special operations forces. As the 9^th Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the United States Special Operations Command, Patrick served as one of the most influential non-commis­sioned officers in our armed forces. At the start of this year and just a few months after retiring from his post, Patrick joined our team to mentor our portfolio entre­pre­neurs on leadership and bring his operational expertise to these companies as they scale for the long term.

DCVC backs entre­pre­neurs using Deep Tech to transform our world. They’re tackling immense challenges like reshaping foun­da­tional industries, giving us new levels of insight into the world around us in real-time, or powering new ways of thinking about our healthcare system. These kinds of disruptive technology companies require a different type of dedication and scale than photo-sharing apps or electric scooters. It’s about overturning entrenched industries like agriculture, phar­ma­ceu­ti­cals and manu­fac­turing – spurring the fourth industrial revolution – and it’s not accomplished alone.

While in the military, Patrick was dedicated to helping our troops become effective leaders, both in the Armed Forces where they could lead teams and throughout the rest of their lives as they moved on from the military to beginning their careers as private citizens. Though retired from his post, Patrick continues to mentor these leaders as a Fellow at the Joint Special Operations University, an institution which seeks to sharpen the minds of our special operations forces and partners to better operate in the current and future strategic environment.

Patrick brings this expertise to the DCVC portfolio. His experience and advice will help DCVC entre­pre­neurs who are trans­forming industries as they make tough decisions about the direction of their companies. And he will help guide them through the challenges of building a team focused on succeeding with a singular purpose.

Keeping quickly growing teams focused and operating in the same direction is an incredibly difficult task that Patrick mastered throughout his career. DCVC portfolio companies will have access to his deep under­standing of operations at scale, acquired through his many years leading special operations teams and, ultimately, the entirety of our special operations forces community. Patrick also has extensive experience working within the constraints of the U.S. government and will aid our companies as they, e.g., help frontline medical personnel with AI-assisted cardiac ultrasounds or work with the Department of Defense to develop rapid responses to pandemics.

We’re excited to welcome Patrick to the DCVC team!