Carten Cordell and Edward Graham, respectively managing editors at WT’s partner publications Government Executive and NextgovFCW, join Nick and Ross to go over all things shutdown in this episode’s first part. Then for part two, Nick and Ross unpack SAIC’s CEO transition against the backdrop of today’s market landscape.

Phil Poliquin, a market executive for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking’s government sector team, offers general guidelines for contractors on how to carry on during a period when payments from customers are frozen.

Tim Borchert and Atchut Kanthamani, respectively chief executive and president of Tria Federal, join to go over the company’s push to be a more formidable midsized competitor in the health and public safety markets.

Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, outlines the ways government contractors are keeping busy on several fronts as they prepare for their customers to reopen.

John Caucis and James Wichert, public sector market analysts at Technology Business Research, preview the opportunity set for contractors in this new federal fiscal year after first addressing what the government shutdown means for industry.

Booz Allen Hamilton’s move to triple its venture capital commitment is the focal point of this episode featuring Matt Calderone and Brian MacCarthy, respectively chief financial officer for the corporation and VC organization leader.

Arun Gupta, chief executive of NobleReach Foundation, says having more 'dual citizens' of industry and government will help people understand both sides of the ecosystem and attract more talent.

Ron Ash, CEO of Accenture's U.S. federal subsidiary, joins to describe how AI-driven initiatives are reshaping strategic partnerships and opening more opportunities for outcome-based contract work.

David Birken, senior vice president for digital modernization and experience at ICF, joins to go over some keys for mapping technology implementations to workforce trends and what customer delivery looks like in today’s landscape.

David Blauzvern, a managing director and ESOP specialist at CSG Partners, lays out some answers to that question and what employee stock ownership plans can offer government contractors for their next phases.

Michael Hauser, managing partner for Science Applications International Corp.’s venture capital arm, walks through how this part of the company works to bring emerging technologies forward after they invest in a young company.

Sophia Harris, founder and chief executive of ODRG, charts the path her company has taken since its inception in 2013 and how a full change in approach positioned it for an investment from Advantage Capital.

Lauren Williams, our Defense One colleague and a senior editor there, jumps in to help connect some dots between the defense industrial base and the U.S.’ efforts to regain global manufacturing leadership.

Frank Konkel, editor-in-chief for all GovExec publications including WT, jumps in to help connect the rideshare giant’s agreement with the General Services Administration and the agency’s agenda for reforming government contracting.

Dustin Siggins and Katie Helwig, public relations and GovCon practitioners respectively, go over the past decade in corporate culture shifts and how external messaging connects directly to communications with government customers.

Aaron Myers, a managing director at Nextfed, goes over how government contractors should balance change with staying true to themselves in a customer landscape full of demands to do business differently than before.

David DiMolfetta, our Nextgov/FCW colleague who covers all things cyber, jumps in to explain how U.S. government agencies are monitoring Iran’s cyber activities and why a major intrusion into telecommunications networks keeps getting worse.

Edward Graham, our Nextgov/FCW colleague who covers VA, jumps in to break down why some lawmakers are pressing the department for transparency on its use of artificial intelligence in deciding which contracts to cancel.

Nick and Ross carry on their 2025 Top 100 conversation by highlighting some key tension points government and industry are sorting through five months into the Trump administration and what that foreshadows about the future.

Nick is all done putting together the 32nd annual edition of our flagship rankings. For this first in a two-part episode, Nick and Ross start talking all about what this research project tells us about both the companies and market.