Chris Lehman

Chris Lehman is Chief Development Officer at Principal Mineral, bringing deep expertise in defense policy, industrial base strategy, and capital deployment. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director of the Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital, where he helped design and implement innovative financial tools to strengthen the industrial base and scale critical technologies. Previously, Chris led the Defense Production Act Title III Program, revitalizing and expanding the use of DPA authorities to scale investments across critical minerals, microelectronics, space, shipbuilding and other strategic sectors. Chris has also worked as a strategy consultant advising clients in the commercial aerospace, defense and federal markets. Earlier in his career, Chris served as a Marine Officer on active duty and continues to serve in the Reserves. He holds a B.A. from Yale and an MBA from Georgetown.