The GovCon Room

Lonye Ford started at the Air Force at 19. Today she is the CEO of Arlo solutions, a DC-based government contracting firm specializing in cyber, governance, risk, and compliance. In this episode, she breaks down why so many federal agencies are still confusing compliance with actual risk management, what it really takes to go from practitioner to CEO, and the one hiring decision that made building her company possible.

Mehul Shah has been inside NIH for over 30 years. He is the Modernization and Growth Director at CTIS, a health informatics firm with deep roots across NCI, NIAID, NHLBI, and CMS. In this episode, Mehul breaks down what this administration is actually prioritizing in federal health IT. HR consolidation first. Financial systems second. AI adoption running in parallel. He explains why those two forces are not competing. They are converging. And what that means for firms trying to position now.

In this episode, Ezekiel sits down with Oli Cooperwood, CEO of P3 Consulting Services, to unpack his journey from active duty Marine to federal employee to government contractor. Oli shares hard-won lessons from his time at NAVSUP, TSA, and beyond — including a brutal daily commute from Pennsylvania to Arlington — and how those experiences shaped his approach to small business development. He breaks down practical strategies for breaking into federal contracting, getting in front of the right program offices, and how his "People, Process, Partnership" framework helps agencies make smarter decisions. Plus, Oli teases an exciting new prioritization methodology in development that aims to bring scientific rigor to one of the hardest challenges in government: deciding what to do first.

Most small GovCon firms measure success by contract longevity. Wintrio measures it by what the agency can do without them. In this episode, Musharaf Rashid and Quan Myles Boatman talk about building a reputation on delivery, diversifying before the 2025 disruption hit, and why the hardest jobs in the agency keep landing on their desk.

In Part 2 of the Best8a Podcast's second conversation with former U.S. Air Force and Space Force Chief Software Officer Nicolas Chaillan, the discussion shifts from AI disruption to what the future of government contracting, proposals, and software development actually looks like in an agent-driven world.

Nicolas explains how AI agents are already transforming how work gets done across federal programs, why traditional proposal writing may soon become obsolete, and how organizations can start adapting to a workforce where autonomous systems operate 24/7.

He also shares insights on the risks AI introduces into the federal acquisition process, including proposal quality challenges, evaluation complexity, and the growing need for technical expertise inside government review teams.

Topics covered in Part 2:
• How AI agents are changing government contracting workflows
• Why proposal writing may not survive the next wave of automation
• The future of SaaS in an agent-based software environment
• AI’s impact on the federal workforce and acquisition processes
• How professionals can prepare for the next phase of AI-driven transformation

Artificial intelligence is moving fast — but federal policy is moving slower.

In this episode of the BEST8A Podcast, Caleb Max, President and CEO of the National Artificial Intelligence Association (NAIA), explains what’s happening right now in Washington around AI regulation, why states are stepping in before the federal government, and what this means for government contractors.

We also discuss how Congress is pushing agencies to adopt AI tools, where opportunities are emerging across DHS, VA, State Department, and DoD environments, and why implementation—not experimentation—will define the next wave of AI contracts.

Caleb shares practical insights on:
• why the federal government still lacks a unified AI framework
• how state-level AI regulation is accelerating nationwide
• what contractors should expect from upcoming AI requirements
• why implementation support will become a major opportunity area
• how startups can compete alongside legacy primes
• why certifications like ISO 42001 and NIST frameworks will matter more than ever

He also explains how NAIA represents hundreds of AI companies before Congress and the executive branch — helping shape policies that affect the future of innovation across federal agencies.

If your company is tracking AI adoption across government, this conversation provides a clear picture of where the market is heading next.

Nic Chaillan joins the podcast for a blunt conversation about where artificial intelligence is heading and why he believes the market has already moved beyond AI as simple augmentation. Drawing from his experience building and exiting Ask Sage, he breaks down the current AI landscape, from frontier model providers to tools and platforms, and explains why model access, security, and flexibility matter so much in both government and regulated environments.

Neil McDonnell joins the podcast for a candid conversation on what is changing in government contracting and how small businesses can respond. He breaks down the current environment as one of chaos, but argues that chaos is not necessarily bad if contractors know how to adapt, rethink where the money is moving, and focus on what they can actually control.

In this episode of the Best8(a) Podcast, we sit down with Suzanne Lesko, former NAVY public affairs officer and current National Security Leader for IBM to talk about trust, coherence, and what it really takes to build strong relationships in high-stakes environments. We explore why alignment in how you think, feel, and show up matters more than transactional networking.

What does it take for minority-owned firms to survive in GovCon?

Gloria Aderinokun doesn’t sugarcoat it: "GovCon is a long game".In this clip, Gloria talks about walking into rooms that weren’t built for her, commanding respect anyway, and learning not to tie personal worth to contract outcomes.Her message is simple and hard-earned:

Command respect, trust your work, and don’t let imposter syndrome take the wheel.