John McGunnigle

John McGunnigle is the co-founder, executive chairman and chief technology officer of Spear AI, a national defense–focused artificial intelligence company. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, he graduated with distinction in 1992 from the United States Naval Academy with a BS in computer science and holds an MS in operations analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School.

A retired US Navy captain with over thirty years of service, McGunnigle commanded the USS New Hampshire (SSN 778) and Submarine Squadron FOUR. McGunnigle served in a series of senior leadership roles at the Undersea Warfighting Development Center (UWDC) in Groton, Connecticut, including chief of staff, director of the Tactical Analysis Group (TAG), and director for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. In these roles, he led tactical development and validation efforts, managed real-world operational analysis, oversaw the Submarine Operations Research Group (SORG), and drove systems and capability innovation for the US Submarine Force.

As director for AI/ML at UWDC, he cofounded and led Project Harbinger, a multiagency artificial intelligence initiative executed in partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security under Project Maven, NAVSEA, the Digital Warfare Office, and the Office of Naval Research. This effort applied machine learning to undersea acoustic data across a range of sensor types and platforms.

McGunnigle’s final position in the Navy was as special assistant for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to the Commander, Submarine Forces (CSF). In that role, he also served as the functional data manager for the Undersea Enterprise and Deputy for Task Force Turing, where he led efforts to develop and implement the Navy’s artificial intelligence and data strategy for the undersea domain.

After retiring from the Navy, McGunnigle served as director of acoustics and undersea systems at Saildrone, where he led the development and deployment of acoustic systems for unmanned surface vessels. He has also served as a consultant to several AI and data science firms and as a special government employee for the Chief Digital and AI Office. He currently sits on the board of advisors for Verterra Energy and the Connecticut Nuclear Energy Advisory Council.