On August 15, Navy Comptroller Russell Rumbaugh will join other U.S. Navy leaders, government decision makers and naval experts as they discuss the service branch’s top priorities, challenges and opportunities. Join the 2024 Navy Summit, hosted by the Potomac Officers Club, to meet, learn from and network with Rumbaugh in person.
Read on to learn more about Russell Rumbaugh, his role in the U.S. Navy, his career history and his impact in the naval landscape.
Who Is Russell Rumbaugh?
The Honorable Russell Rumbaugh is the assistant secretary of the Navy for financial management and Navy comptroller. Rumbaugh was nominated in March 2022 and officially stepped into the role in January 2023. As navy comptroller and assistant secretary, Rumbaugh oversees management of the Department of the Navy’s annual budget of over $240 billion. He’s also responsible for leading the DON’s financial management transformation as well as leading more than 9,200 financial managers.
Russell Rumbaugh’s Career Background
Prior to his current role, Rumbaugh served as a systems director for the Center for Space Policy and Strategy at the Aerospace Corp. During this time, he was also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies and security studies program and at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government.
Here are some other roles Rumbaugh has held across his career:
- Analyst of Defense Acquisition Policy for the Congressional Research Service
- Special Assistant to the Director, CAPE for the Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy
- Director of Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense and Senior Associate at The Henry L. Stimson Center
- Defense and International Affairs Analyst for the Senate Budget Committee
- Military Legislative Assistant for Representative Jim Cooper
- Operations Research Analyst for the Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Military Analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency
Rumbaugh’s Navy Impact
Running Fix Initiative
Rumbaugh is involved in the Navy’s “Running Fix” initiative, which was launched by Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro to enhance the Department of the Navy’s effectiveness and efficiency by addressing organizational and programmatic issues.
The Navy comptroller co-chairs Running Fix with Nickolas Guertin, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition and fellow 2024 Navy Summit keynote speaker. Through Running Fix, Rumbaugh and Guertin will gather insights across the DON and leverage those insights to inform the budget development process for fiscal year 2026.
“This is not an efficiency drill,” said Rumbaugh of the initiative. “It’s not a cut drill. This is a ‘do things better.’”
Bolstering Navy’s Partnerships
According to Rumbaugh, the Navy needs to strengthen its partnerships with global allies and industry partners in order to effectively respond to Indo-Pacific threats and budget challenges.
“We need to be working with our industrial partners of every sort,” Rumbaugh said at a January 2024 event. “We need to work with our partners, but we need this to be a dynamic relationship. … We’re reaching out and trying to build those partnerships to make sure we get the production we want, that we are not just putting money into a backlog but actually getting ships to sea.”
Improving Navy’s Acquisition Processes
Rumbaugh has also advocated for improved acquisition processes within the Navy.
“We need to do a better job of buying the correct solution,” Rumbaugh said. “As much as I love my acquisition colleagues, I can’t help but notice how quickly they jump to, ‘Yeah, we should have this for everything.’ But wait a minute, did you actually apply the right one? I think you will see the appropriators be willing to give us more flexibility and try a bigger program that is reasonably mature and just could use a little bit more freedom.”
Hear the Navy Comptroller Speak at the 2024 Navy Summit
Russell Rumbaugh is slated to deliver a keynote speech at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Navy Summit on Aug. 15. Other keynote speakers at this event include:
- Nickolas Guertin, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition
- Michael Stewart, Director of the Department of the Navy’s Disruptive Capabilities Office (DCO)
- Franklin Parker, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs)
- And RDML Kurt Rothenhaus, Chief of Naval Research
And the summit will feature panel discussions about:
- Naval autonomy
- 5G in Navy mission sets
- Harnessing AI for mission impact
- And mission system modernization through technological innovation
