Jillian Manus

About Jillian Manus

Jillian Manus is a Venture Partner at SHIELD Capital, where she focuses on early-stage, dual-use frontier technologies at the nexus of commercial markets and national security, particularly in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, autonomy, and space. She also serves as the U.S. Venture Advisor to the European Innovation Council Fund, Europe’s largest €30b deep-tech innovation platform, deploying capital into cutting-edge European startups and SMEs. It is one of Europe’s priority initiatives.Manus is the longtime Managing Partner of Structure Capital, a Silicon Valley early-stage venture fund branded the “Architects of the Zero Waste Economy” for its focus on underutilized assets and excess capacity. Manus has served more than three decades in U.S. intelligence and national security, holding operational, advisory, and strategic roles supporting U.S. and allied institutions with a focus on emerging technology, geopolitical risk, and security policy at the public-private intersection. Manus is an adjunct professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she teaches the graduate course “Hacking for Defense”. Previously, she served as Co-Director of Technology, Media & Telecom at Credit Suisse in Zurich, held senior roles in Media including as Associate Publisher of the national technology publication Upside. She later founded Broad Strategy, Manus Media, and Global Goal Sports Management to advise technology companies and institutional investors on growth, capital formation, global market entry, and ancillary rights strategies. She describes herself as an Innovation Diplomat, committed to reducing conflict and deepening alliances by channeling investment into global innovation ecosystems. A frequent global public speaker, podcast host (including co-hosting “The Pitch”), and media commentator on business and politics for platforms such as CNBC, Bloomberg, Sky, and CNN, she is widely recognized for her leadership in transatlantic innovation. She serves on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards, including the Stanford University School of Medicine Board of Fellows, the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center Board of Directors, The World Affairs / Commonwealth Club Board, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and Communities in Schools. Named one of Business Insider’s “Top 25 Early-Stage Female Investors” and recipient of honors such as the Transatlantic Bridge Award, Manus lives in San Francisco and continues to amplify work across Europe, the United States, and Ukraine through her investing, board service, and advocacy for cross-border innovation diplomacy.

Experience

1. Instructor

   Hacking for Defense Stanford

   Jan 2026 — Present · Palo Alto, CA, US

   Instructor in “Hacking for Defense” a graduate‑level, project‑based course at Stanford that applies the Lean LaunchPad/Lean Startup methodology to real national security problems sourced from the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence community sponsors. I coach interdisciplinary student teams as they conduct extensive stakeholder interviews, map mission-model hypotheses, and rapidly prototype dual‑use solutions, with a focus on practical technology transition pathways into defense agencies and the broader national security innovation ecosystem.

Skills

• Digital Media
• Web Content
• Television
• Advertising Sales
• Public Relations
• Viral Marketing
• Media Relations
• Copywriting
• Campaigns
• Guerrilla Marketing
• Screenwriting
• Interactive Marketing
• Video Production
• Publishing
• Content Marketing
• Advertising
• Strategic Partnerships
• Strategic Communications
• Magazines
• Website Development
• Entertainment
• Entrepreneurship
• Creative Writing
• Start-Ups
• Media & Entertainment
• Publicity
• Books
• Social Networking
• Social Media Marketing
• Blogging
• Online Advertising
• Social Media
• Published Author
• Integrated Marketing
• New Media
• Content Development
• Content Strategy
• Marketing Strategy
• Marketing Communications