The Intelligent Decision Partners Team

Managing Partner

Michael Marks is a senior Washington-based executive, with 30 years of public and private sector experience in international affairs and national security issues, technology competitiveness, innovative open source intelligence methodologies, and business development in the federal government marketplace.

He is a seasoned businessperson, international negotiator and interlocutor with the highest levels of the U.S. government and industry, as well as a corporate strategic planner and decision-maker. He is an accomplished writer, manager and administrator, having served as staff director and primary author for several Presidential and USG Agency-level reports and studies. He holds a Masters degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a Recipient of Jaycee’s “Outstanding Young Men of America Award” and the State Department’s “Superior Honor Award”, and is listed in several national biographical publications.

Michael was a founder of Synthesis Partners, a leading innovative open source decision intelligence firm. Prior to that he was President, Michael B. Marks and Associates and an Adjunct Staff Member with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). Michael also served as Executive Vice President, Projectavision, Inc., Vice President for Corporate Development, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Vice President for Strategic and Government Operations, Reality Mobile, LLC. He served in government for ten years, holding a number of high-level policy positions, both in the Executive and Legislative branches, including Senior Policy Advisor to the Office of Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA); Assistant Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Executive Office of the President; Senior Policy Advisor to the Under Secretary for Security Assistance, Science and Technology, U.S. Department of State; and Legislative Assistant for Foreign Affairs and National Security for Senator Jake Garn.