About Me

Mark Listes is the chief executive officer of Pendulum, leading the firm in its mission to empower companies and governments to detect, deter, and counteract the impacts of harmful online narratives and information operations with machine-learning–enabled tools.

Prior to Pendulum, Mark was the chief of staff of the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), a US Department of Defense R&E program office with the mission of building networks of innovators to generate new solutions to national security problems. Mark also served as the director of policy at the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) during the 2016–18 foreign interference in US elections crisis. At the EAC, he was the agency’s staff lead for all national security issues – including intergovernment and intragovernment coordination, policy design, and policy implementation.

Before the EAC, Mark was the co-founder and executive director of Revive My Vote, a voting-rights NGO that specialized in collaboratively building solutions with government organizations. Mark has a JD from William & Mary Law School and a BA from the University of Tennessee. He is a published author on the topics of critical infrastructure, election law, and government policymaking.