Senior Executive, SynthBee, Inc. / Strategic Advisor, DeepWater Exploration / Vice Admiral, US Navy (retired)
David Buss is a retired tech CEO, public company president, and US Navy vice admiral. He is a board member and advisor with several emerging technology companies. Buss is a member of the Forbes Technology Council. He was CEO of OpenDrives, Inc., a Los Angeles-based data storage provider, from 2019 to 2022. Prior to joining OpenDrives, he served as president of Cubic Global Defense, Inc., for three years where he led all aspects of Cubic’s $1B military training technology business. He oversaw a global aerospace defense company with more than 4000 team mates across 38 countries.
A 1978 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Buss is a retired Vice Admiral with 37 years of active military service in operational assignments around the globe. During his Navy career he was privileged to have commanded a tactical jet squadron, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a carrier battle group, and a task force. In his final assignment he served as Commander, Naval Air Forces, the Navy’s 3-star “Air Boss,” where he led an aviation force of 11 aircraft carriers, 150 squadrons, and more than 100,000 people. Admiral Buss also served in Baghdad, Iraq at the height of the troop “surge” in 2008-09, leading the strategic planning efforts for the military forces and US Embassy.
Buss serves in a senior leadership role with tech startup SynthBee, Inc., and is on the Board of Advisors with DeepWater Exploration, Inc., and Team Rubicon. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to ANZU Partners, a venture capital firm. Buss serves on advisory boards with NUBURU, Inc., and Niron Magnetics, Inc. Additionally, he is a Trustee and executive committee member with the US Naval Academy Foundation, and is Chairman Emeritus of the board for the National Naval Aviation Museum Foundation in Pensacola, FL.
