Dr. Alison Hawks

Dr. Alison Hawks is one of the leading experts advancing public sector innovation. A academic-turned-entrepreneur, she is the co-founder and CEO of BMNT, Ltd., the innovation consultancy driving public sector innovation; and Chair of the Common Mission Project UK, BMNT’s charitable partner that guides mission-driven entrepreneurial education in the UK.

Dr. Hawks co-founded BMNT Ltd in 2019 to bring BMNT’s proven innovation approach to the UK market. Under her leadership BMNT has become a trusted innovation partner across all single Services of Defence, the Cabinet Office, and the national security community. She has also helped change how real-world government challenges are addressed in the UK, launching the “Hacking for” academic programmes created in the U.S. These courses teach university students how to use modern entrepreneurial tools and techniques to solve problems alongside government at startup speed. More than 480 students in 18 universities in the UK have taken these courses, more than 100 government challenges.

Dr. Hawks teaches mission-driven entrepreneurship at King’s College London, Department of War Studies and at Imperial College London’s Institute of Security Science and Technology. She was named the Woman of the Year for Innovation and Creativity at the Women in Defence Awards in 2022. She serves on the Board of Directors of BMNT, leading development of BMNT’s innovation education programs while also guiding the integration of BMNT’s rapidly expanding international presence.

She was previously Director of Research at the Section 809 Panel, a U.S. Congressionally mandated commission tasked with streamlining and codifying defense acquisition. She was also an Assistant Professor at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, as well as King’s College London, Department of Defence Studies where she taught strategy, policy and operations in professional military education.

Dr. Hawks’ doctoral thesis was in military sociology. She received her Ph.D from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, and her MA in Strategic Studies from the University of Leeds. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego. She has multiple peer reviewed publications on her research.