MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arkenstone Defense, the only GovCon-native platform that equips commercial technology companies with the compliance infrastructure needed to enter the federal market, today announced that Dr. Jason Rathje has joined the company as Executive Chairman of the Board. Rathje was the founding director of the Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), an office dedicated to attracting private investment through government lending in critical technologies vital to U.S. national security. Rathje positioned OSC to be one of the largest credit agencies in the U.S. government.
"Arkenstone is solving the exact problem I spent my career at OSC and AFVentures trying to solve from inside the government: how do you get more of the country's best commercial technology companies through the door, onto contract, and supporting our military?" said Rathje. "The barrier is almost always operational: certification, cleared workforce, compliance, payroll, and security. Arkenstone has built that missing infrastructure layer to allow private capital and commercial innovation to provide what the Pentagon is asking for. I'm proud to lead the board as they scale."
Prior to his role at the OSC, Rathje served as director and co-founder of AFVentures, the Department of the Air Force's commercial investment arm under AFWERX. In that role, he managed $1.8 billion of combined government funding and private capital for scaling early- to mid-stage technology ventures to support Air Force operations. Rathje holds a doctorate degree of philosophy in strategy and policy from Stanford University, as well as a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in aerospace engineering from MIT.
"Jason built the Office of Strategic Capital from the ground up inside the Department of War and mobilized billions in capital toward the technologies that matter most for national security,” said Peter Dixon, co-founder and CEO of Arkenstone Defense. “He has lived, from the government side, the exact problem Arkenstone was built to solve on the industry side — the operational gap that keeps capable commercial companies out of delivering capabilities to the warfighter. As Executive Chairman, his experience building policy and moving capital through the Pentagon gives our board a perspective that maps directly onto our mission of widening the commercial defense industrial base."
Arkenstone combines workforce operations, HR, payroll, insurance, personnel security, contracting support, compliance, and accreditation into one managed platform that scales from a company's first federal opportunity through long-term government programs. More than two dozen defense technology companies already operate on Arkenstone's platform.
"Our customers shouldn't have to become experts in government operations just to sell transformative technology," Dixon added. "They should be focused on building products that strengthen national security. Jason understands better than almost anyone what it takes to bring commercial innovation into the defense ecosystem at scale, and we're fortunate to have him guiding the board as we grow."
About Arkenstone Defense
Arkenstone Defense builds the operating system for government contracting and compliance — the infrastructure that lets commercial companies meet the full operating burden of selling to the U.S. government, from cleared workforce and payroll to personnel security, accreditation, and audit. By removing that burden, Arkenstone aims to widen the commercial defense industrial base and help the United States field capability affordably and at scale. Arkenstone is led by a team of operators who have built and run the GovCon, cybersecurity, and workforce businesses the company now brings together. It is based in Menlo Park, California, with offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Burr Ridge, Illinois. Learn more at arkenstonedefense.com.
Contacts
Lydia Davey Herter
ldavey.ctr@arkenstonedefense.com
