Rachel Riley

Rachel Riley is the General Manager for Agentic Products and Services at Red Cell. She joins from her position as the Chief of Naval Research, where she managed the full portfolio of Science and Technology (S&T) for the Department of the Navy, in service of all U.S. Sailors and Marines.

Rachel has long experience leading transformational change across the public and private sectors. At the Office of Naval Research, she received the highest possible civilian award, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, for her work to launch her “FEED at Speed” strategy, improving the return on taxpayer S&T investment through a tighter focus, more efficient operations, and increased speed of delivery to the Warfighter. She also led a series of high-profile efficiency initiatives at the Department of Health and Human Services before moving to the Department of the Navy.

Prior to her government service, Rachel was a Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Public Sector and People/Organizational Performance practice. There, she led teams to advise a wide range of Federal, State, and private sector clients on questions of organizational transformation for efficiency and speed.

Rachel holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Social Policy and a Master of Science in Contemporary Chinese Studies from Oxford University, where her research focused on the institutional failures of China’s so-called “One Child Policy.” She received her undergraduate degrees in Economics and Chinese from Wofford College, where she was a four-year varsity member and two-year captain of the Lady Terriers volleyball team.