ML Mackey

CEO and Co-Founder

Beacon Interactive

ML Mackey is the CEO and a Co-founder of Beacon Interactive Systems. Over the course of 25 years Beacon has transitioned from a software startup in Cambridge, MA delivering enterprise software systems to private sector customers like Olympus, IBM & MetLife into a rapidly growing defense contractor providing digital solutions to the Department of Defense.  Beacon, a recognized leader in the delivery of Mission Critical IoT and AI systems, provides innovative capability to the Navy, Air Force and OSD.  

Beacon is a successful example of the sought-after non-traditional defense contractor delivering commercial sector expertise to meet DoD needs.

Increasingly recognized for her expertise in small business innovation and technology transition, Ms. Mackey is frequently interviewed and invited to speak on the topic of entrepreneurship and federal contracting at Congressional Hearings, as well as at outreach events led by the National Academies of Science, the Small Business Administration and both the Navy and DoD SBIR Program Offices.  Ms. Mackey is a repeat contributor of articles to the Washington Post about Small Business Entrepreneurship and has received multiple awards both nationally and regionally for her Entrepreneurship and Leadership efforts.

Prior to starting Beacon, Ms. Mackey’s engineering background includes both hardware design of rehabilitative medical devices as well as software design of CAD systems and tools at Digital Equipment Corp. Ms. Mackey holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University.