AKMSecure announces that James Faist has joined its Board of Advisors. Faist brings more than four decades of experience in defense technology, advanced sensor systems, electronic warfare, and national security strategy to AKM’s mission of replacing outdated PKI with Autonomous Key Management™.
Faist currently serves as President of Faist Advisory LLC, providing engineering leadership and consulting services to support U.S. national security. He is also a Senior Advisor at Cerberus Capital Management, Co-Chairman of the Board at Resonant Sciences Inc, a member of the Board of Directors at Trident Systems, Inc. and a Member of the Advisory Board at Stratolaunch Systems Inc.
Faist served as the first Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Advanced Capabilities within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, reporting directly to the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In that role, he directed an organization charged with recognizing, exploring, and forcing the development of new technologies to maintain U.S. technological superiority.
Before his Pentagon appointment, Faist held senior technology and engineering leadership roles at Lucent Government Solutions Labs, part of CACI International (Vice President, Chief Technology and Strategy Officer), Northrop Grumman (Chief Engineer, Space and Airborne ISR Systems), and Schafer Corporation (Chief Strategy and Technology Officer and VP/General Manager for Military Aerospace). Earlier in his career, he led radar and sensor systems development at Harris Corporation, Trident Systems, ENSCO, and System Planning Corporation, spanning space-based radar, electronic warfare, and advanced sensing architectures.
Faist began his career as a U.S. Air Force Weapons Systems Officer and Electronic Warfare Officer, flying over 1,000 missions in F-4 fighter aircraft and earning a Top Gun designation twice. During his career he received numerous performance awards and honors including the Exceptional Public Service by the Office of Secretary of Defense, from the U.S. Air Force, academia, and industry and is a recognized speaker in his field. He holds a Bachelor of Science with honors in Electrical Engineering from the Virginia Military Institute, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University with an emphasis on microwave theory and power systems.
Faist’s deep expertise in contested defense environments, advanced sensor systems, and technology strategy aligns directly with AKM’s expansion into federal and tactical edge markets. His experience directing defense technology development at the highest levels of the Pentagon positions him to advise AKM on accelerating adoption across defense and national security programs where quantum-resilient, Zero Trust encryption is most critical.
“Jim’s career represents exactly the kind of defense technology leadership to expand AKM into contested environments. His experience directing advanced capabilities development at the Pentagon and leading technology strategy across the defense industrial base will be invaluable as we bring autonomous, quantum-resilient encryption to the programs that need it most.” — Brian McGowan, CEO, AKMSecure
“The threat landscape is evolving faster than legacy encryption architectures can keep pace. AKM’s Autonomous Key Management™ and quantum-resilient security addresses a critical gap in how we protect defense systems and communications in contested environments. I’m pleased to join the Board of Advisors and contribute to this mission.” — James Faist
AKMSecure delivers a patented Autonomous Key Management™ protocol built to replace outdated PKI approaches with a dynamic, quantum-secure, air-gapped-capable architecture. Instead of relying on persistent credentials that can be stolen, reused, or abused, AKM enables independently verified sessions with no standing privileges left behind. The result is a model that better aligns with Zero Trust principles, reduces credential-based risk, and supports resilient operations across enterprise IT, OT and Tactical Edge environments. Built to NSA-grade security standards and deployable as a lightweight SDK, AKMSecure helps organizations modernize trust at the protocol layer without rebuilding everything around it.