He was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the 76th United States Secretary of the Navy in January, 2017, although he subsequently withdrew himself from consideration.

Philip M. Bilden was born in 1964, the son of a Navy officer with numerous duty stations across the United States.

Bilden graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, magna cum laude, in 1986[3] with a concentration in International Politics focused in Soviet Bloc studies and a proficiency in Spanish.

Bilden is the third of seven men in his family to have served over four consecutive generations in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army since World War II.

[7] Shield Capital announced a strategic partnership with aerospace & defense company, L3 Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) to pursue early stage investments in frontier technologies including cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, autonomy, and space intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

[8] Bilden was a co-founding member of the private equity firm HarbourVest Partners, which manages over $100 billion in assets.

[9] Bilden was responsible for the firm's investment strategy and execution, capital raising, and client service activities throughout the Asia Pacific region, managing personnel and partnerships in multiple countries and cultures.

[4][6][21] Bilden announced his decision to respectfully withdraw from consideration as 76th Secretary of the Navy in a statement issued by the Pentagon on February 26, 2017, noting his inability to serve without materially adverse financial divestiture of private family assets.

[23] Bilden has served on several boards of public policy, non-profit, educational, and philanthropic organizations supporting military veterans, national and regional security, and cybersecurity missions.