Too many exceptional companies stall when they try to grow in defense. Not because their technology lacks impact, but because their story, strategy, and relationships never connect to the mission. I started Wayfinder to change that.
After two decades inside the defense ecosystem, I kept seeing the same pattern: innovators with real solutions hitting the wall of process, language, and culture. The technology was rarely the problem. The translation was.
Commercial companies treat growth as a funnel and engagement as marketing. Defense does not work that way. You grow by understanding the problem better than anyone, getting in front of the people who own it, and earning their trust in the room. That is what I help companies do.
I build your capability to compete. I do not try to run your company for you. When a client needs more hands for capture or proposal work, I bring in trusted partners. Fewer clients, better work, real outcomes.
I served eight years in the Navy as an intelligence analyst and instructor. I then spent seven years as Deputy Director of the Army Mad Scientist Initiative, at TRADOC G-2 and Army Futures Command, where I created the Convergence podcast. From 2021 to 2024 I was dual-hatted as Director of Wargaming for TRADOC G-2.
From there I moved to the industry side as Army Growth Lead for Defense Unicorns, then joined the Southwest Mission Acceleration Center as Director of ISR Programs. There I supported the Army's DAMI-ST by scouting and assessing ISR technologies, designing and facilitating solutioning workshops, and running collider events like tech competitions and demos. I also ran the Defense Innovation Unit's OnRamp Hub in Arizona, where I built EXTiC, a CENTCOM-sponsored experimentation event that now runs two to three times a year. Today I run Wayfinder and serve as Director of Engagement for EDGE, the El Paso Defense Growth Engine, and as VEDDER Deputy Cohort Lead with the Defense Innovation Networking Group (D!NG).
The throughline has always been the same: connect the people who build capability to the people who need it, and do it with honesty and speed.
“He doesn't simply point toward the future, he helps the rest of us find our way there.”
One conversation. No pitch, no obligation. I will tell you straight whether I can help.
