The business of federal contracting does not entirely come to a halt during government shutdowns, and arguably picks up in other ways, but financial concerns certainly remain paramount for all companies.

Phil Poliquin is a market executive for J.P. Morgan Commercial Banking’s aerospace, defense and government services team. He is our guest for this week’s episode to go over some general guidelines for contractors on how to navigate the shutdown and stay ready for the reopening of government, plus thrive afterward.

The GovCon ecosystem has gone through about 10 months of stress testing before the shutdown, as Poliquin often reminds clients of. What teams like Poliquin’s want and need to hear from contractors also features in the conversation with our Ross Wilkers.

Tria Federal’s acquisition of Softrams back in the spring transformed the acquirer almost overnight into a 1,500-person team that looks to blend technical offerings and knowledge-centric work.

Tim Borchert and Atchut Kanthamani, respectively chief executive and president of Tria, join for this episode to overview the strategy for being a more formidable midsized competitor in its core markets of health and public safety.

During the conversation with our Ross Wilkers, Kanthamani also explained why he felt both the timing and buyer was right for the company he started in 2007.

Also on their agenda: where Tria sees itself in the broad arena of digital transformation, the market’s adjustment to a new pace and cadence in 2025, and the company’s Labs arm focused on innovation.

Stop-work orders from government agencies to their partners in industry do not, in fact, entirely pause the business of federal contracting as companies have plenty to do as they prepare for the eventual reopening.

This episode featuring Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, begins with a guide of what typically happens next after contractors receive those orders to stop work and wait for the directive to resume.

From there, Kostro takes our Ross Wilkers through some of the basic action items that the trade association is recommending for its member companies and more with all eyes toward the shutdown’s inevitable end.

Ongoing conversations with lenders and financial institutions are must-dos for companies well before, and while, the invoice payments freeze. Finding people inside government to speak with on deliverables is becoming more difficult, as Kostro explains.

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All government shutdowns do end at some point, no matter how dark and gloomy things may feel, and all businesses are charged with navigating both today’s environment and positioning for tomorrow’s opportunity set.

But the shutdown is where we had to start this episode featuring John Caucis and James Wichert, public sector analysts at the market intelligence firm Technology Business Research. John and James overview how TBR is monitoring the situation and how federal contractors may have had some early practice amid the Department of Government Efficiency’s pushes for cuts.

The conversation with our Ross Wilkers then turns forward to a preview of the new 2026 federal fiscal year that may be starting out without funding for agencies, but will still have plenty of priorities to follow once they open for business.

Some of those priorities featured in the discussion: IT modernization, drives for efficiencies, where the dollars are flowing in civilian and defense programs, more outcome-based contracting and the search for one integrator to overhaul the U.S.’ air traffic control system.

Booz Allen Hamilton has invested in 17 startups since the launch of its venture capital fund in 2022, which initially had $100 million to work with and is now tripled in size to $300 million.

Matt Calderone and Brian MacCarthy, respectively chief financial officer for Booz Allen and its VC organization leader, join for this episode to explain why the firm expanded the fund and all that happens after the investment.

As they tell our Ross Wilkers, technologists at both Booz Allen and the startups it invests in collaborate closely to develop the solutions for usage by federal agencies at scale.

Calderone and MacCarthy also highlight how reindustrialization is a new area for Booz Allen Ventures, in conjunction with the core tech priorities that have defined the fund over three years.

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Government workforces absolutely have been disrupted here in 2025 through layoffs and other exits of employees from agencies, but there is a future to talk about and especially when it comes to technology.

For this episode, NobleReach Foundation’s chief executive Arun Gupta helps us take that conversation forward with ideas and solutions for bringing more talent into the public sector. Much remains unsettled in how the Trump administration is looking at the federal workforce, but the theme of needing talent will always remain paramount.

One key concept Gupta lays out in the conversation with our Ross Wilkers is being a “dual citizen” of both industry and government to give people exposure to all sides of the ecosystem. Other types of pathways are part of the discussion as well.

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In his first year as CEO, Ron Ash of Accenture Federal Services has been positioning the company for growth opportunities that focus on Trump administration priorities for artificial intelligence and other technologies that foster efficiency.

Ash tells our Nick Wakeman about how these changes in the market have impacted partnerships, fostered new business models and brought more commercial practices into the federal market.

He calls 2025 the “year of the rebuild” with new opportunities accelerating in 2026 as agencies increase demand for solutions that help them use their resources more effectively.

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