Brandon Karpf
Cybersecurity • Artificial Intelligence • Dual-Use Innovation
Strategic Systems Architect & Advisory for leaders operating in contested domains.
When technology, capital, and national security converge, there is no playbook. Brandon embeds with your executive team as a strategic systems architect, aligning dual-use defense technology decisions with board-level outcomes—fast.
$30B+
Enterprise value under protection
50+
Strategic briefings, reports, and keynotes delivered annually
2-4
Concurrent high-touch advisory clients
What leaders need solved right now.
Every engagement starts with unresolved tension—between regulators and innovation, commercial missions and classified threats, or investors and operators. These are the arenas where Brandon creates asymmetric advantage.
Board-level clarity
Translate technical chaos into decisive, investor-facing strategy with the right mix of rigor and urgency.
- • Multiple regulatory regimes converging (SEC, EO, EU AI Act)
- • Board risk committees demanding quantified exposure
- • Need for executive narratives that match technical reality
Operational hardening
Rapidly close the gaps adversaries are probing in satellites, critical infrastructure, and high-value SaaS.
- • Insider knowledge of DoD and National Security tradecraft
- • Real-world zero-trust deployments across OT + cloud
- • Playbooks for tabletop exercises and crisis messaging
Capital & growth alignment
Guide technology entrepreneurs, founders, and PE firms through dual-use diligence, product-market fit, and federal pathways.
- • Technical and commercial diligence in the same room
- • Hands-on operating partner experience at Fulcrum VC
- • Introductions across defense primes, integrators, and media
Trusted by national security, Fortune 100, and venture-backed leaders
Signature advisory programs.
Engagements are structured for speed, discretion, and measurable executive outcomes. Choose the program that meets your moment.
Rapid Posture & Crisis Readiness
30-day engagement combining technical deep dive, war-game scenario, and executive corrective action plan.
- → Board-ready narrative.
- → Prioritized remediation map that matches budget cycles and risk appetite.
- → Response protocols that align comms, legal, and ops in the first 30 days.
Embedded Strategic Advisor
6–12 month retainer for CISOs, founders, or asset managers who need an on-call operator for pivotal decisions.
- → Standing weekly cadence with accountable owners.
- → Deal support across partnerships, M&A, and GTM with clear go/no-go calls.
- → Strategy-led media program design (podcast/newsletter) to amplify executive narrative.
- → Access to Brandon’s network across government & media
Dual-Use Venture Operator-in-Residence
Hands-on support for PE/VC portfolios commercializing national-security grade technology.
- → Product-market fit validation with mission owners.
- → Talent and governance upgrades that make scale credible to buyers.
- → Briefing prep for Capitol Hill, NATO, and strategic buyers.
A clear path from first call to measurable impact.
The cadence is disciplined so your team always knows the next decision, deliverable, and owner. Global teams stay in lockstep across U.S., Europe, and Indo-Pacific time zones through coordinated briefs and secure workstreams.
Intake & triage (Week 0)
Confidential briefing, scope alignment, secure data room setup, and immediate risk review if needed.
Deep diagnostic (Weeks 1–2)
Workstreams across technology, governance, and communications that surface friction points and opportunities.
Executive activation (Weeks 3+)
Implementation support, leadership coaching, and ongoing reporting that keeps momentum and accountability.
Proof in the field.
Brandon has navigated joint cyber missions, run venture-backed companies, advised global executives, and influenced international governments. Clients bring him in when the stakes hit headlines.
- • Guided an international defense leader through a hostile signal intrusion investigation.
- • Rebuilt GTM and security governance for multiple venture-backed SaaS platforms.
- • Architected dual-use diligence for a venture roll-up across critical infrastructure and cybersecurity.
“Brandon parachuted into an international incident, aligned our leadership team in 48 hours, and left us with a playbook we still run months later.”
“Our fund leaned on Brandon to diligence a dual-use AI platform. He identified the real moat, navigated export controls, and helped us close the round with conviction.”
Ready when the stakes are highest
Let’s design the playbook before you need it.
Share your mission, timeline, and desired outcomes. We’ll confirm availability, align on scope, and move immediately into discovery.