Steven Cade

Steve Cade is Founder and President of FoxRed LLC, advising corporate, small business, and government clients at the intersection of national security strategy, operational logistics, maritime industrial-base readiness, technology adoption, and workforce development. He brings senior level expertise in military capabilities planning and budgeting, fleet sustainment, defense innovation, and public-private collaboration. Steve is a Senior Advisor for The Roosevelt Group and Renaissance Strategic Advisors and serves on the Advisory Board of Directors of Whitestone IAG. He also serves as President of the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association, Hampton Roads Chapter, and was recently appointed to the City of Virginia Beach Military Economic Development Advisory Committee.

Prior to retiring from federal service in 2025, Steve served for fifteen years as a senior executive with the Department of Defense and the United States Navy. His most recent position was as Executive Director of Military Sealift Command, the DoD’s primary maritime logistics enterprise, where he led a workforce of over 10,000 personnel and managed a $5.5 billion annual budget supporting global operations and sustainment of 140 ships. At MSC he championed collaboration and innovation among partners within Navy, other military services, government agencies, and industry to deliver combat logistics, strategic heavy lift, expeditionary operations, oceanographic survey, and other specialized missions at sea. Steve previously served as Director, Fleet Capabilities and Force Development for the Navy’s Fleet Forces Command, where he and his team were responsible for operational capabilities assessment and budgeting, concept development, and transition of new ships, systems and technologies into the fleet.

A United States Naval Academy graduate and former Navy Surface Warfare Officer, Steve’s active-duty career spanned operational tours in the Atlantic, Pacific, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Caribbean. He completed the Executive Leadership Program at Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina, and holds master’s degrees in national security strategy from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and in mechanical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. His Senior Executive Service career was recognized with the Presidential Rank Awards of Distinguished Executive and Meritorious Executive, the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and the Superior Civilian Service Award.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Steve and his wife, Leigh-Anne of Annapolis, Maryland have enjoyed living in over a dozen locations across the United States and overseas. They have been especially fortunate to call Virginia Beach, Virginia home.