Natalya Dean Bio
Natalya Dean
Board Member
AmCham Abu Dhabi
Co-Chair, Business Leadership Alliance
AmCham Abu Dhabi
General Manager
Northrop Grumman
Ms. Dean joined Northrop Grumman as General Manager for the UAE in August of 2020. She is responsible for identifying key opportunities for the strategic growth of Northrop Grumman in the UAE by leveraging her extensive experience working with government agencies, defense industry, and international partners on efforts involving security assistance; export policies and compliance; direct commercial sales of U.S. defense articles and international cooperative research and development.
Prior to joining Northrop Grumman Ms. Dean served as the Director of Security Assistance in the Office of Defense Partnership at the Embassy of the United States in the United Arab Emirates, where she managed and supervised one of the largest Foreign Military Sales (FMS) portfolios in the world with a value of over $33 billion. Concurrently, she delivered comprehensive advice and strategic guidance to the U.S. Ambassador to the UAE, Senior Defense Official, the UAE Ministry of Defense General Staff, and military services on all capabilities development, acquisition strategies, and technology and information disclosure in support of advancing U.S. interests and interoperability in the combined operational environment.
Ms. Dean arrived to ODP after serving three years as the Senior Command Representative of the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command to United States European Command and U.S. Army Europe. In this role, she directed U.S. Army security assistance programs in Europe, valued at more than $18 billion dollars. She worked with senior foreign military representatives from 39 countries and maintained close working relationships with the security cooperation organizations, military departments, the interagency, and combatant commands.
Prior to her assignment at EUCOM, Ms. Dean served as Saudi Arabia National Guard’s Country Program Director for eight years, managing the Army’s largest Foreign Military Sales program valued at more than $35 billion. She led coordination efforts with the USG interagency to support fielding programs that established three Saudi aviation brigades and two Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) brigades.
Ms. Dean served with distinction in the United States Army from 1998-2006, culminating with duties as Senior Officer Assignments Manager for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where she was named the Pentagon Military Service Employee of the Year. Prior to her Pentagon assignment, her leadership was recognized when she was appointed to lead the Headquarters Command Group Section at the Army’s prestigious “Old Guard” unit in Washington, DC.
Ms. Dean holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. She has completed selected MBA coursework at Johns Hopkins University and is currently enrolled in a Master of Arts in International Relations with the University of Oklahoma. She is a fluent Russian speaker.