mission
DICE was founded to “Make Industrial Cooperation Make Sense” for companies. Long-term business strategies, national security priorities, alliance-strengthening objectives, and domestic political realities collide in the field of international defense industrial cooperation. Mapping overlaps of interest between companies, country customers, and the unique national security & public safety priorities informing each nation’s industrial cooperation objectives is key to developing successful and high-value projects.
As your end-to-end partner in industrial cooperation/participation/offsets, DICE understands that project success requires dependable execution at the program management level. From corporate training and education, planning high-value & cost-effective programs, and project management services extending through project completion, DICE is committed to successful outcomes for all stakeholders.
In addition to our corporate services, DICE is a champion of industrial cooperation and co-production priorities of the United States and its alliance network. We work with governments directly on identifying priorities that (1) make sense for the strategic development of their militarily-relevant supply chains and (2) are feasible given realities at the business-to-business level.
Colby Ferland, Founder & CEO
Mr. Ferland is a specialist in industrial cooperation/participation/offsets and has a strong background in U.S. defense acquisition, supply chain integration, and program management. He is experienced in U.S.-Indo-Pacific security issues, with emphasis on cross-Strait, U.S.-Taiwan, and U.S.-PRC relations.
He is the Founder and CEO of DICE International (Defense Industrial Cooperation Education), founded to support the international growth of SMEs in New Space, cyber, AI, drones, and other national security/public safety-focused solution providers. These outcome-driven growth and expansion-stage companies face barriers to entry into international markets due to industrial cooperation or offset participation requirements traditionally meant for large primes and process-driven country customer bureaucracies. New business models are clashing against old processes, and DICE International’s mission is to bridge the gap by offering education, planning, and project management services.
Mr. Ferland maintains a long-time consultancy agreement with Finnish SAR satellite manufacturer, ICEYE, where he manages the company’s offset requirements. He is also Senior Fellow at the Project 2049 Institute, where he previously served as Director of Programs. With Project 2049, Colby leads the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industrial Cooperation and Supply Chain Security Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative that for years has gathered key public, military, and private sector stakeholders together in Taipei to provide education, simulations, and debate on U.S.-Taiwan defense trade processes.
He holds a master’s degree in Asian Studies from Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service (MASIA), where he wrote his master’s thesis on U.S.-Taiwan defense trade. Before returning to the U.S. for graduate school, Colby traveled East Asia for years while living in Taiwan, where he attended National Taiwan Normal University’s Mandarin Training Center. While there, he also taught English to Taiwanese youth. He earned his bachelor’s degree studying Chinese political economy at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and the London School of Economics. He is proficient in Chinese and Spanish.