Brian Hill – Research Innovations, Inc.
Brian Hill is the Director of Business Development for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Portfolio, Enterprise Command and Control Line of Business, at Research Innovations, Inc.
By DDN Staff |
12/13/2024
Force Multipliers
In this monthly column, Defense Daily highlights individuals from across the government, industry and academia whose efforts contribute daily to national defense, from the program managers to the human resource leaders, to the engineers and logistics officers.
Brian Hill, Colonel, USAF (Retired), is the Director of Business Development for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Portfolio, Enterprise Command and Control Line of Business, at Research Innovations, Inc. (RII). Hill assumed this position in 2024 and leads RII’s efforts developing strategic partnerships and advancing technological capability to increase the effectiveness of joint planning, targeting, and operations within the Indo-Pacific operations environment. Previously, he was the Chief of Information Operations, Headquarters U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii.
How did you get involved in the defense industry or community?
I come from a family with a long tradition of military service. It started with my grandfather, who served in World War II. He laid the foundation for a legacy of service that my father, who served as a medical corpsman in the Army during the Vietnam War, carried on. Following in their footsteps, I attended the United States Air Force Academy, and I then spent 33 years in active military service with the Air Force. As I made the move from DoD to industry, I saw an incredible gap in existing technology that helped to meet mission needs, which brought me to RII. I’ve always felt it important to contribute to something bigger than myself and to do what I could to positively impact the lives of others, and this community has provided that tenfold. Now, I am proud to continue this legacy through my son, who is serving in the military in the Indo-Pacific region.
What are some challenges you faced working through your career?
Looking back, one of the most significant challenges in my career was completing pilot training amid limited flying opportunities in the military. After my training wrapped, I didn’t have the opportunity to fly for two and a half years. This was one of the first times I’ve been trained, equipped, and ready to do one task and then asked to pivot to do something totally different. While disheartening at first, I began to look at this as an opportunity—one to learn how to be agile to best support my teams and the missions we are tasked to execute. During that time, I served in Air Force Recruiting in the Pacific Northwest. I learned a lot from the job, particularly from the leaders I worked with, and it opened doors to opportunities in Information Operations that I wouldn’t have otherwise had access to later in my career. Not only were these experiences beneficial in developing my professional skills beyond flying, but I also met my wife, and we started our family during that time.
https://www.defensedaily.com/brian-hill-research-innovations-inc/force-multipliers/
