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ND-US Competes Fall Event

Strengthening U.S. Manufacturing & Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

Explore how Notre Dame students, alumni, and industry leaders are advancing U.S. competitiveness through manufacturing partnerships, defense contracting, entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA).

This two-day event brings together military-affiliated leaders, founders, investors, regional manufacturers and industry partners—all committed to Growing the Good in Business.

Agenda & Event Details

    • Dates: Thursday & Friday, November 6–7, 2025
    • Locations: Stayer Center for Executive Education & Innovation Park, University of Notre Dame
    • Audience: ND MBA, Executive MBA, and ESTEEM students, alumni, regional manufacturers, and industry partners
    • Cost: No cost to attend | Registration required

Thursday, November 6 

10:00 AM – 12:30 PM  |  Morning Session – Student Focus (Stayer Center)

    • How to Grow a Business with Defense Contracts – Matt Kaufman
    • Manufacturing Partnership Opportunities in Defense Tech – Gary Landuyt
    • ETA from a Successful Owner/Operator – Jim Dudley
    • Approaches to ETA – Kevin Kenefick

1:30 PM – 4:30 PM  |  Industry and Student Sessions (Stayer Center)

    • General Bryan Fenton – U.S. Army
    • Jim Smith – U.S. Special Operations Acquisition
    • Paul Brenner – Notre Dame Research Computing SBIR Case
    • Patrick O’Neill – Conexus – Defense in Indiana
    • Connor Cassady – President, CP Industries, Defense Contracting Case

4:30 PM  |  Networking Reception

Friday, November 7 

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM  |  From Service to Startups: Veteran Founders & Investors (Innovation Park)

    • Kevin Craig – CEO and Founder, Tesselated
    • Ben Moore – CEO & Founder, The Ugly Company
    • Nick Tawil – Managing Director, O’Shaughnessy Ventures

12:00 PM  |  Pitch Competition Sponsored by Boeing (Innovation Park)

    • Judges: Dave Lucas, Ben Moore, Eric Huntowski
    • Pitch Session: Five-minute pitches followed by Q&A.
    • Judges will deliberate before announcing first-, second-, and third-place winners, with $5,000 in prizes sponsored by Boeing.

 

View Full Agenda & Bios (PDF)

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Keynote

  • Gen. Bryan Fenton  (ND ’87) – General, U.S. Army – National defense priorities

Featured Speakers

  • Paul Brenner (ND PhD ’07) – Senior Assoc Director, ND Center for Research Computing
  • Connor Cassady – President, CP Industries
  • Kevin Craig (ND MBA ’21) – CEO & Founder, Tessellated Inc.
  • Jim Dudley (ND ’90) – Former CEO & Owner, PERBIX; former Tesla operations leader
  • Eric Huntowski (ND ’06) – Engineering Manager, Boeing
  • Matt Kaufman (ND MBA ’25) – U.S. Army Captain; ND MBA student
  • Kevin Kenefick (ND MBA ’15) – CFO, Mavely
  • Thom Kenney (ND MBA ’03) – CEO, Tycho.AI
  • Gary Landuyt  (ND EMNA ’28) – U.S. Navy SEAL; Head of Unmanned Systems R&D, NSW Development Group
  • Ben Moore (ND MBA ’20) – CEO & Founder, The Ugly Company
  • Patrick O’Neill – Conexus Indiana, Defense in Indiana
  • Jim Smith – U.S. Special Operations Acquisition
  • Nick Tawil (ND MBA ’13) – Managing Director, O’Shaughnessy Ventures

About ND – US Competes

The University of Notre Dame (ND) – United States (U.S.) Competitiveness Program is a collaboration between the Mendoza College of Business and Industry Labs. The program explores how Notre Dame graduate students can lead in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship through acquisition efforts, with a focus on strategic U.S. competitiveness. Target areas include defense contracting, onshore manufacturing, and ETA, with a strong emphasis on participation from Notre Dame’s active-duty and military veteran graduate students and alumni.