Mr. John Cofrancesco is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of American AI Logistics (AAIL), a company delivering AI-powered infrastructure to federal resellers and national security partners. The company's solutions are designed to reduce operational friction and increase responsiveness across government acquisition channels. Prior to founding AAIL, he served as Vice President, Business Development at Fortress Information Security, the leading cybersecurity provider for critical infrastructure in the United States. During his time there, Fortress secured backing from Goldman Sachs Asset Management to support its expansion into federal markets and national defense. Mr. Cofrancesco led strategic growth efforts, helping the company align its cybersecurity capabilities with the operational needs of regulated industries and government stakeholders. Mr. Cofrancesco began his public service career with the U.S. Navy where he managed the Department of Defense's largest electronic records compliance program. His work sits at the intersection of national security, artificial intelligence, and federal procurement—transforming how emerging technologies are applied to mission-critical outcomes.

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Ms. Mackenzie Eaglen works on defense strategy, defense budgets, and military readiness and is also a regular guest lecturer at universities, a member of the board of advisers of the Alexander Hamilton Society, and a member of the steering committee of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security. Ms. Eaglen is also one of the 12-member US Army War College Board of Visitors which offers advice about academic program objectives and effectiveness, and serves on the US Army Science Board, an advisory body that provides guidance on scientific and other matters to the Army's senior leadership. In 2023, she became a member of the Commission on the Future of the Navy, established by Congress to study the strategy, budget, and policy concerning the future strength of the US Navy fleet. While working at AEI, she served as a staff member on the National Defense Strategy Commission, a congressionally mandated bipartisan review group whose final report in November 2018, "Providing for the Common Defense," included assessments and recommendations for the administration. Earlier, she served as a staff member on the 2014 congressionally mandated National Defense Panel and in 2010, on the congressionally mandated bipartisan Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel. Before joining AEI, Ms. Eaglen worked on defense issues in the House of Representatives, in the US Senate, and at the Pentagon in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on the Joint Staff.

Dr. Eric Labs specializes in issues related to the procurement, budgeting, and sizing of the forces for the Department of the Navy and the Coast Guard. Dr. Labs has testified before Congress numerous times and published many reports under the auspices of the Congressional Budget Office as well as articles and papers in academic journals and conferences, including the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings, Sea Power magazine, the Naval War College Review, Foreign Affairs, and Security Studies. Also, he has given presentations to a variety of industry, government, and academic audiences.  Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson awarded him the Navy Superior Public Service Award in February 2019. Dr. Labs has received CBO’s highest honor, the Director's Award for Exceptional Achievement, in 2001, 2003, 2007, 2014, and 2024.

Dr. Caitlin Lee is a political scientist with a research focus on innovation, force planning, emerging technology and organizational culture. In her previous role at the Mitchell Institute, she stood up the Center for UAV and Autonomy Studies. Before Mitchell, she held several management and research leadership positions at RAND, including Associate Director of NSRD's Acquisition and Technology Policy program and Acting Associate Director of the Strategy and Doctrine program in RAND Project AIR FORCE. At RAND, she led several projects related to global force management and joint officer development, and supported projects related to readiness, military innovation, command and control, and special mission analysis. In addition to all these achievements, she is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches a class on force planning.

Mr. Jeremiah Gertler provides market intelligence, analysis, and insight to private clients worldwide. Prior to joining Teal Group, he was the military aviation analyst for the Congressional Research Service for 12 years, where he testified before Congressional committees, briefed members and staff on policy, budget, technical, and other matters, and wrote and maintained reports on major military aviation programs. In previous Capitol Hill billets, he oversaw the entire defense procurement and missile defense budgets on the professional staff of the House Committee on Armed Services for FY2000 through 2005, responsible for $78 billion a year. Earlier, he served as military legislative assistant to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. As senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, he was principal author or co-author of major reports on Department of Defense reform and missile defense, and initiated studies on reserve component roles and missions, systems acquisition, military logistics, and Special Forces aviation.

LTG David Bassett (Ret.) joined The Cohen Group as a Senior Counselor in May 2024 after a distinguished 35-year career in the US Army. Most recently he served as the Director of the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). In this role, he led a team of more than 12,000 military and civilian employees responsible for the management and administration of over 300,000 contracts across the Defense Department with a total value of over $3.5 trillion. This included the full range of Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, Army, and Defense Agencies' portfolios from the building of surface ships, submarines, aircraft, ground vehicles, unmanned systems, and the weapons, communication, and electronic systems on them to the overhaul, maintenance, and repair of equipment and systems across the Defense Department. Over the course of his career, he has held many senior-level military positions. Prior to his role at DCMA, he served as the Army Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, and Communications-Tactical where he was responsible for the development, acquisition, fielding, and support of the Army's tactical networks, a critical modernization priority.