American Systems opened for business in 1975 and transitioned to an employee stock ownership plan 15 years later, a model that makes it one of the market’s largest 100% ESOP companies.

CEO John Steckel joins for this episode to help mark American Systems’ 50th anniversary and explains some moves it has made this year to set the company up for the next 50, including its largest-ever acquisition.

In talking with our Ross Wilkers, Steckel lays out what the purchase of Epsilon brings to American Systems and larger trends in managed services that led to the transaction. Secured data centers are part of that equation too and increasingly reflect larger conversations in society, as Steckel explains.

Of course, American Systems’ status as an ESOP features in the conversation too. American Systems (No. 87) is one of three ESOP companies on the 2025 WT Top 100 ranking alongside Torch Technologies (No. 66) and DCS Corp. (No. 77).

In his Nov. 7 address to industry, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out what the U.S. military wants from its contractors and wholesale changes the Pentagon is carrying out to make agile acquisitions a reality.

Lauren Williams, senior editor at Defense One who covers the industrial base, was there in-person and joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to walk through those structural changes that prior Defense Department leaders have spoken about for years.

One major theme of that dialogue has been DOD’s desire to have more commercial technologies, which has been easier said than done. But as Lauren explains, the push to “go commercial” is more than just about the product being bought.

Also on this episode’s discussion agenda: what the defense industrial base has been up to during the shutdown and why prototyping is becoming more popular across the ecosystem.

Unveiling acquisition overhaul, Hegseth tells industry to get with the program

Defense tech companies will weather the shutdown. But what happens next?

Experts see promise, risk in Pentagon’s draft acquisition reforms

Meet the White House pick to conquer the ‘Valley of Death’

With cautious optimism, some defense firms lock in on prototypes to drive demand

The 2025 government shutdown is on-record as the largest ever at 43 days, which means the recovery period will last well into the spring and presents a risky environment for contractors to operate in.

Christine Williamson, a partner in the GovCon industry advisory practice at CohnReznick, joins for this episode to walk through five risks she and her colleague Kristen Soles identified as ones companies must watch out for and ways for responding to them.

As Williamson tells our Ross Wilkers, there is much excitement across the entire ecosystem to get back to work and understanding there is a long road ahead to get government’s engine back to where it was pre-shutdown.

The article Williamson and Soles co-authored is below to read along during the conversation.

Government shutdown FAQ for contractors: Today’s risks and what’s next