Vice Admiral William Merz, USN (Ret.)

Vice Admiral Bill Merz is a senior vice president for Oceaneering International. His portfolio includes deep-sea manned, unmanned, and seafloor solutions; submarine maintenance and component manufacturing; rocket thermal protection; and astronaut training, tooling, and life-support. In addition to his role at CNA, he holds board and advisory positions for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, the Navy Submarine League, and the National Defense Industrial Association. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the Australia–United Kingdom–United States (AUKUS) defense initiative.

While on active duty, VADM Merz commanded the US Seventh Fleet, employing 50 to 70 ships and 30,000 sailors and marines in the conduct of security and deterrence operations with 32 partner nations in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. Prior to that, he commanded three overseas task forces and United Nations security operations in the East China Sea. He served in Naval Reactors headquarters and in five Pentagon positions involving finance, requirements, operations, and policy.

As a career US Navy submarine officer, VADM Merz commanded the deep submergence vehicle (DSV) NR-1, the attack submarine USS Memphis, and Submarine Development Squadron 12. He completed 12 overseas deployments with crews that earned 9 unit-level awards, 5 Battle Effectiveness awards (“Battle Es”), the top ship in the fleet award (Battenburg Cup), and recognition for completing the fastest ever under-ice polar transit. He is an honorary Navy chief petty officer and upon his retirement was the last of the active duty “594 Tough” submariners—veterans who share the legacy of service aboard the Thresher/Permit-class submarines.

VADM Merz earned a Bachelor of Science in ocean engineering from the US Naval Academy. He also earned master’s degrees from the Catholic University of America and the US Naval War College. He completed MIT’s Seminar XXI and the Strategic Thinking program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.