Event Date: September 22, 2025, 11:30am – 1:30pm
Event Location: International Ballroom, JW Marriott

Lewis “Lou” Von Thaer was appointed President and CEO of Battelle, the world’s largest independent, not-for-profit research and development organization, in October 2017. Battelle, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, began operations more than 95 years ago. Today, Battelle employees deliver technology solutions for the national security, healthcare, energy, and environmental markets. The company has a storied history of innovation and technology advances and is highly regarded for its management role at nine national laboratories in the United States.

Under Lou’s leadership, Battelle has restored profitability and nearly tripled revenue to over $13 billion while significantly expanding its R&D portfolio. Battelle’s philanthropy has expanded nearly fivefold and impacted 1.6 million students in STEM education in 2024. The company has donated more than $100M to local communities in the past 7 years.

Previously, Lou served as CEO of DynCorp International, a $2 billion company with 12,000 employees. Lou was responsible for driving growth across federal market sectors that included aviation services, intelligence solutions, logistics and contingency operations, and operations and maintenance support.