Podcasts
5 Questions with the CEO
Get to know BENS members in these brief conversations with General Joseph Votel exploring the intersection of business and national security. In these interviews, private-sector leaders discuss industry best practices for assisting the national security agencies in executing their missions to keep America secure.
InFocus, Building the Base
In-depth series focused on shaping the future national security industrial base. Hear from top entrepreneurs and leaders from the high tech, financial, industrial, and public sectors, as they share their ideas and perspectives about how we can all work better together to ensure our national security and prosperity.
In this podcast, President, and CEO General Joseph Votel (ret.) interviews private-sector leaders contributing their expertise and industry best practices to help the Department of Defense and other national security agencies execute their missions to keep America secure. The show features short conversations of 10-15 minutes. Speakers include leading BENS members and experts in the topics driving trends in national security, American foreign policy, U.S. resilience, and issues with which the membership is engaging.
General Joseph Votel speaks with BENS DC member Sam Meek, Co-Founder and CEO of Sandboxx, a military media platform based in Arlington, VA, with a mission to build content and technology…
General Joseph Votel speaks with BENS Southeast member Jonathan Evans. President and Chief Operating Officer of Lithium Americas Corporation (LAC); a company currently bringing to market two world-class lithium resources…
General Joseph Votel speaks with BENS Texas member George Knost III. Owner and President of Arkel International, an infrastructure and technical services company helping organizations, governments, and militaries work successfully…
InFocus is an in-depth series featuring business and national security experts providing insider perspectives on today’s most vexing challenges facing our nation’s security.
The first set of InFocus discussions is Building the Base: unique perspectives on shaping our future national security industrial base during this pivotal time in our Nation’s history. Hear from top entrepreneurs and leaders from the high tech, financial, industrial, and public sectors, as they share their ideas and perspectives about how we can all work better together to ensure our national security and prosperity.
Building the Base conversations are hosted by longtime BENS member and leader of the BENS Technology and Innovation Council Lauren Bedula and former Under Secretary of the Navy and now BENS Distinguished Fellow, Hondo Geurts.
Kirsten Bartok Touw is Co-Founder of New Vista Capital and Managing Partner of AirFinance. She is an active early-stage investor in new and emerging advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. Bartok…
Steve Blank is co-creator of the Lean Startup movement and has been part of, or co-founded, eight Silicon Valley startups in fields such as semiconductors, video games, personal computers and…
James Cross is the Founder of Silicon Valley Defense Group, a nonprofit connecting the people, capital, and ideas that will ensure the U.S. and its allies achieve a durable advantage…