Our Team

Chad Schumacher

Chad founded Creighton Strategies Group in 2024 following a distinguished 20-year career in the U.S. Navy and a decade of experience in Government Affairs roles in Washington, DC. During his time in the Navy, Chad flew the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet on multiple combat deployments and taught Data Link Management and Air-to-Air F/A-18 Employment at TOPGUN. He served as a Defense Legislative Fellow for a Subcommittee Chairman on the House Armed Services Committee and later as a Legislative Affairs Officer at NORAD & NORTHCOM, specializing in Homeland Defense and missile defense. Chad concluded his military career in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he was the lead legislative affairs officer for the F-35 program and represented several initiatives for the Undersecretaries of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment and Research & Engineering. He was also selected to serve as the Secretary of Defense’s Senate Affairs Director, managing the Secretary’s engagements with the Senate.

After retiring from the Navy, Chad took on the role of head of legislative affairs for the National Commission on Military Aviation Safety and served as Naval Aviation Safety Advisor to the Director. He also held the position of Senior Manager for Government Relations at Lockheed Martin, where he led capture teams and coordinated with Pentagon requirements officers for Lockheed’s Naval Aviation programs.

Most recently, Chad was the Director of Washington Operations for AeroVironment, one of the largest suppliers of unmanned systems to the Department of Defense. In this role, he successfully advocated for AeroVironment’s programs before both the House and Senate, engaging with authorizers and appropriators. Chad consistently secured additional funding for multiple programs, developed and implemented a strategic congressional engagement calendar, arranged and managed the CEO’s first congressional hearing, led multiple CODELs and STAFFDELs to AeroVironment facilities, managed the company’s Political Action Committee, and oversaw independent consultants to strengthen the company’s brand on Capitol Hill.

Chad holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He is the author of several articles in Naval Aviation Warfare publications and was honored with the Robert “Trey” Clukey Leadership Award for outstanding performance.