Ms. Adele Ratcliff is the Director of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy’s Innovation Capability and Modernization office.  In this position, she implements the broad authorities of the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program to strengthen the competitive posture of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base by fortifying traditional technical capabilities and forging emerging industrial sectors to respond at-will to national security requirements.  In Ms. Ratcliff’s long acquisition career, she has been an industrial base champion leading transformative initiatives including developing manufacturing readiness levels, inspiring movement to the digital thread, spearheading the DoD Manufacturing USA institutes, establishing America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) in partnership with the Department of Energy to catalyze the U.S. machine tool industry, and leading the DoD to focus efforts to regrow a strong manufacturing trades capability.  

Ms. Ratcliff has served as Director of the DoD Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program, Program Manager for the congressionally mandated Defense Acquisition Challenge Program, Deputy Program Manager for the Foreign Comparative Test Program, and more than 11 years in Air Force Test and Evaluation at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida where she was awarded Civilian Test Engineer of the Year.  She is a proud alumnus of the Mississippi State University Bulldogs, earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1988.  In 2011 she graduated from the U.S. Army War College earning a Master of Science in Strategic Art, and is also a graduate of the Department of Defense’s Defense Senior Leadership Development Program.