CEO of Amentum John Heller on Nuclear, Space, AI, and the Future of GovCon

Bharath Gopalaswami: The Space Domain Is the One You Cannot Afford to Lose

On this episode of The Future of GovCon, Jake Frazer sits down with Bharath Gopalaswami, CEO and Co-Founder of Strelos AI, a C-UAS company, former Atlantic Council senior fellow, PhD from Trinity College Dublin, and one of the most credentialed space and national security thinkers in the GovCon ecosystem. Bharath has spent his career at the intersection of aerospace engineering, international security, and government contracting. In this conversation he breaks down Golden Dome and what it would actually take to build it, why losing the space domain means losing land, sea, air, and cyber, how adversaries are already targeting US space infrastructure through soft kill mechanisms, and where the GovCon space sector is heading in 2029. If you work in defense, space, or GovCon broadly, this one will open your eyes. 🔔 Subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people in the GovCon community find the show. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Hook: How much of your life depends on space right now? 01:07 – Welcome and introduction 01:54 – Who is Bharath Gopalaswami: Mission Resilient Solutions, Atlantic Council, PhD 03:56 – Growing up in Chennai, Bombay, and Oman: a true internationalist 05:55 – The Indian Space Research Organization and an accidental career in space 06:52 – What made Chennai a hotbed of science and engineering 08:10 – The International Space University in Strasbourg: a master's in space studies 08:54 – Astrium (today's Airbus): satellite design in Germany 10:36 – Trinity College Dublin PhD: modeling noise out of rockets and airplane engines 11:52 – How watching WMD inspections in Iraq led him to international security 12:17 – Cornell postdoc: infrasound, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and missile detection 14:34 – Research in Kazakhstan: tracking atmospheric events through infrasound sensors 16:07 – Vision without resources is hallucination: the operational reality of research 16:54 – Moving to the US and the Atlantic Council: five years shaping space policy 18:00 – Founding Mission Resilient Solutions: quantifying space dependency and vulnerability 20:00 – How much of your daily life actually depends on space infrastructure 22:00 – The commercial and national security angles of space resilience 24:00 – Golden Dome: infrastructure or weapons platform? 26:00 – What price do you put on defending the homeland? 28:00 – One year funding is a promise, not a program 30:00 – The $1.5 trillion defense budget and where the space priorities are 33:36 – Golden Dome: 7,800 satellites just to intercept 10 ICBMs 35:00 – Sensor layers, detection, categorization, and the interception problem 35:51 – If you don't win the space domain you can forget the rest 36:20 – Kinetic warfare in space: soft kill and hard kill mechanisms 37:44 – Iran switching from GPS to BeiDou: what that signals 38:34 – Nobody has done it yet but there is no international law preventing it 39:25 – Fast forward to 2029: constellations, launch capacity, and data centers in space 41:25 – Mirrors in space reflecting solar energy: is this the future? 42:50 – One word on the future: "Adaptability" 44:11 – Why you no longer need the traditional primes in the space domain 44:56 – Closing thoughts and what is next for Bharath and Mission Resilient Solutions

Chris Decker on What's Really Happening in Indo-Pacom, Africa, and Southcom Right Now

On this episode of The Future of GovCon, Jake Frazer sits down with Chris Decker, President and Founder of Planate Management Group, a veteran-owned small business operating in 26 countries doing some of the hardest engineering and infrastructure work in the world's most challenging locations. Chris is a Naval Academy graduate and Navy Civil Engineer Corps veteran who built his company from the ground up across three global hubs in the Philippines, Florida, and Kenya. In this conversation he gives a rare ground level view of what is actually happening right now in Indo-Pacom, Africa, and Southcom, why the defense acquisition system is consolidating, and what AI could mean for the future of government proposals. He also serves as past chairman of ISOA and hosts his own podcast, Mission Ready. 🔔 Subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people in the GovCon community find the show. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Hook: Why service contracting is so inefficient right now 00:31 – Welcome and introduction 01:38 – Who is Chris Decker: President and Founder of Planate Management Group 03:28 – Historic times: the most transformation since 9/11 06:22 – Growing up in Pennsylvania: Navy family, German roots, soccer 07:25 – Choosing the Naval Academy 09:06 – The three tracks in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps: Seabees, public works, contracts 10:22 – Leading a major Pentagon acquisition program for seven years 11:11 – The moment he knew he wasn't built for the Corps 12:27 – How Planate Management Group was born 13:25 – His son Joe, now activated with a Seabee unit 17:49 – What Planate Management Group does today: planning, design, engineering, construction 20:16 – The origin of the name Planate: three books and a mathematical surface 22:04 – Three support centers: Subic Bay, Orlando, and Nairobi 24:08 – What's happening on the ground in Indo-Pacom right now 27:28 – Pent up demand: construction running two years behind operational plans 30:20 – China's investment strategy vs. the US approach in the Pacific 31:41 – Shifting to Africa: the decline of USAID and the rise of DFC investment 35:46 – Rare earth minerals, energy, and the real US interest in Africa 38:25 – Shifting to Southcom: the border wall, Peru, Puerto Rico, Guantanamo 40:05 – Where the center of gravity is moving in Southcom 41:47 – The great realignment: consolidating acquisition authority toward GSA 46:48 – Concerns about small business set asides and execution costs 48:50 – Executive order driven change without congressional support 51:09 – Fast forward to 2029: what does the engineering and construction market look like 52:07 – Progressive design build and cutting government oversight layers 53:40 – Could AI eliminate the proposal process entirely 54:23 – One word on the future: "Speed" 55:35 – ISOA's role and Chris's time as chairman 58:01 – The Mission Ready podcast and why he started it

CEO of Amentum John Heller on Nuclear, Space, AI, and the Future of GovCon

On this episode of The Future of GovCon, Jake Frazer sits down with John Heller, CEO of Amentum, one of the most consequential leaders in the government contracting industry today. Amentum is a $14 billion advanced engineering and technology company operating in 70 countries with over 50,000 employees. Under John's leadership the company has grown through landmark acquisitions including the merger with Jacobs, expanded into nuclear energy, space systems, and critical digital infrastructure, and played a key role supporting the recent Artemis II launch. John shares his journey from Pittsburgh to West Point to Deloitte to leading PAE through its IPO, and what he has learned about building culture, growing into adjacent markets, working with private equity, and leading at scale in one of the most dynamic periods this industry has seen. 🔔 Subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people in the GovCon community find the show. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Hook: Our industry is evolving quickly 01:15 – Welcome and introduction 01:36 – John's background and how he and Jake first connected nine years ago 02:29 – What Amentum is: $14 billion, 70 countries, 50,000 employees 03:21 – The legacy companies behind Amentum: AECOM, Jacobs, PAE, DynCorp 04:16 – What people miss about this industry: entrepreneurial and innovative 05:14 – The right company at the right time 05:37 – What makes someone say I am part of Amentum 09:29 – Growing up in Pittsburgh: steel, resilience, and choosing West Point 12:54 – A defining moment: leading a brigade reconstitution in Germany 15:08 – The transition out of the military: choosing graduate school over a paycheck 17:35 – Career advice for young leaders: experience over money in your 20s 19:16 – Leading PAE for eight years and taking it public 20:20 – Growing PAE into the intelligence community from zero to 750 million 22:10 – Private equity's growing interest in GovCon over the last 25 years 25:17 – You saw the future four years ago: the right company at the right time 25:58 – Amentum's growth markets: nuclear energy, digital infrastructure, space systems 26:50 – The Artemis II mission and Amentum's role in launch support 29:07 – Using AI to scale into new markets 29:42 – Practical AI applications: intelligence analytics, infrastructure monitoring, supply chain 33:23 – What does GovCon look like in 2029? 34:06 – The market becoming more open: commercial style procurement 35:46 – AI pushing companies to move faster with ideas 37:13 – A new breed of business development: bring an 80% solution, don't wait for the RFP 37:52 – Amentum's global footprint: UK, Australia, AUKUS, Indo-Pacom 38:53 – Nuclear energy and the demand for electricity driving AI and the economy 39:48 – One word on the future: "Evolving" 40:51 – PSC, leadership, and the importance of industry participation

Former NSC Director Barry Pavel on China, Iran, AI, and the Most Dangerous Moment in a Generation

On this episode of The Future of GovCon, Jake Frazer sits down with Barry Pavel, former Director for Defense Policy and Strategy on the National Security Council under Presidents Bush and Obama, former VP at RAND Corporation, and co-founder of the Scowcroft Center at the Atlantic Council. Barry has helped write multiple presidents' national security strategies and the first cyber deterrence strategy in the Pentagon. In this conversation he connects the dots on China, Iran, AI, and the four country alignment that should have every defense executive paying attention. 🔔 Subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people in the GovCon community find the show. 00:00 – Hook: Iran, North Korea, Russia, China — the four country alignment 01:19 – Welcome and introduction 01:39 – Barry's background: Pentagon, NSC, RAND, Atlantic Council 04:18 – Growing up in Philadelphia, path into government 05:55 – Writing the first cyber deterrence strategy in the Pentagon 06:17 – Sent to the White House during the 2008 presidential transition 07:35 – Working for both Bush and Obama 09:40 – Secretary Rumsfeld's entrepreneurial culture and the lessons it left 10:01 – In the E-ring in June 2001: a boss looks out the window 10:54 – In the Pentagon on 9/11 and back the next day 12:10 – The lesson: prepare to be surprised 13:06 – The mega changes shaping our environment right now 16:16 – AI is not the future, it is now 17:33 – Artificial superintelligence and why it matters 18:27 – AI experts in private: a 3% chance of human extinction in three years 19:22 – The $1.5 trillion defense budget 20:17 – Neo Primes: Anduril, Palantir, and the new entrants 21:21 – NATO, Europe, and the administration's tone toward allies 25:51 – Will the US stay in NATO? 28:16 – Every administration says no more Middle East, then gets pulled back in 29:01 – Four scenarios for what the Iran conflict means for US-China competition 33:54 – What Gulf states are already buying 35:06 – Pivoting to the Pacific and the NDS 37:19 – China is still the pacing threat 39:07 – Russia, North Korea, and the formal alliance 40:07 – The four country alignment and the World War Two parallel 42:01 – Could AI force US-China cooperation? 46:19 – Fast forward to 2029: Barry's view of the world 47:37 – XI Jinping and the Davidson Window 49:05 – AI adoption across the military 51:42 – One word on the future: "Dynamic"

Tim Garnett: The Old Defense Industrial Base Playbook Is Dead. Here Is What Replaces It.

On this episode of The Future of GovCon, Jake Frazer sits down with Tim Garnett, Partner and Space, Defense and Government Practice Lead at Oliver Wyman, formerly co-founder and Managing Partner of Avacent. Tim has spent 25 years at the intersection of government, defense, and capital markets. He has advised on some of the most consequential M&A transactions in the GovCon space and has a front row seat to the capital revolution reshaping the defense industrial base right now. In this conversation he covers the shift from waiting for the RFP to bringing solutions, the bifurcation of the market between exquisite and commercial, the rise of private equity and venture capital in defense, what the European defense build-up means for industry, and what GovCon looks like in 2029 when the current transformation is in full swing. 🔔 Subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people in the GovCon community find the show. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Hook: A generational leadership change moment 01:13 – Welcome and introduction 01:34 – Tim's background and how he and Jake met 15 years ago 02:15 – What makes Oliver Wyman different: finger on the pulse of the budget and capital markets 03:10 – William and Mary, political science and economics 03:30 – Early career in Russia: the Wild West of the late 90s 05:17 – Friends who made their fortunes in Russia and what happened after Ukraine 05:36 – How Tim got into government contracting: finding DFI 06:45 – Learning the language of GovCon from day one as an analyst 07:50 – Curiosity is king in consulting: your most valuable day is your first 08:20 – The original tech boom and the early intersection of technology and defense 09:11 – Founding Avacent in 2007: the origin story 10:23 – Six partners, one vision: customer first, great culture 11:31 – The origin of the name Avacent: Steve Irwin and the word engine 12:36 – Growing Avacent from 36 to 140 people across DC, London, Paris, Tokyo 13:46 – Building an enterprise not a cult of personality 14:28 – Proprietary data and budget forecasting as a core differentiator 15:11 – What Tim looks for when hiring: hard work, curiosity, smart work 17:19 – Joining Oliver Wyman in November 2022: why the time was right 18:32 – Cultural fit and 15 years of relationship building with Roger Layman 19:08 – What Oliver Wyman added that Avacent never had: digital, supply chain, scale 20:40 – What Tim does now: Space, Defense and Government practice globally 21:54 – Working directly for OSD on industrial base transformation 24:02 – The PSC annual conference: the difference between 2025 and 2026 24:50 – How to get lined up for the $1.5 trillion budget 25:22 – The biggest challenge: timing. How long can you get ready without running? 26:06 – The DOGE philosophy: good in principle, complex in execution 27:58 – Why policy change takes ten years and what the parallel acquisition community means 28:45 – Where the priorities are heading: defense and Intel big increases 29:23 – How to tell your story in a way that gets the customer excited 30:28 – Changing your face to market: the open door administration 31:12 – Bring the solution. Don't ask what they need. 32:13 – The old school BD model is over: companies winning are leaning forward with 80% solutions 33:24 – Brett Lambert and the dinosaurs knitting sweaters 34:23 – Legacy vs new entrants: moving from competition to partnership 35:20 – Capital as the new lever: the triangle has become a square 36:02 – Early 2000s: taking DARPA technology commercial 36:28 – Palantir broke the mold. Anduril followed. 37:32 – The UAS consolidation that is coming: category winners and fallout 38:23 – Private equity: from the global financial crisis to today 40:23 – Where PE interest has shifted: services to manufacturing, software and tech 40:44 – Francisco Partners, Thoma Bravo, Bain Capital coming into defense 41:11 – The government as a source of creative capital: debt, equity, and customer all at once 42:20 – European defense: 11 to 12% growth forecast over 5 to 7 years 43:12 – Rebuilding the European industrial base: ESG reversal and 18 to 20 new PE funds 44:07 – The two track race: Ukraine near-term vs. long-term industrial rebuild 45:12 – Freedom's Forge 2.0: shuttered automotive factories being redesigned for defense 46:23 – The services gap in Europe: a huge and underappreciated opportunity 47:32 – What does GovCon look like in 2029? 48:17 – Strain on the acquisition force: spending fast with fewer people 49:04 – 2027 to 2028 getting things in order. 2029 the real bifurcation begins. 50:53 – The AI strategy question: everyone wants one but few know what it means 52:37 – One word on the future: "Dynamic" 53:14 – Generational leadership change: who steps up and redefines the great brands?