As the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Navy Summit approaches on August 26, anticipation is building for a fireside chat featuring two leaders at the nexus of defense, digital modernization and strategic innovation: Navy chief information officer and two-time Wash100 Award winner Jane Rathbun and Seekr Director of Business Development Mark Fedeli.
Together, Rathbun and Fedeli represent the intersection of government enterprise IT leadership and innovation in defense-driven AI and analytics. Fedeli told GovCon Wire on Monday that the two will discuss:
- Information Superiority Vision 2.0. This is Rathbun’s strategy for accelerating emerging technology and improving Navy IT to help sailors and marines fight and win in contested information environments
- AI Agents. How fast can the Navy go, how many sailors and marines could enhance their work using AI agents and Rathbun’s approach to AI hallucinations
- China. How Navy IT networks are warfighting systems and contributing to near-peer competition
- The Navy’s containerization memo. The Navy wants to containerize, which is a Kubernetes cloud computing principle that could transform the service’s software deployment and IT infrastructure.
Let’s dive into the backgrounds of these two leading defense technology experts.
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Jane Rathbun, U.S. Navy
Rathbun is at the helm of one of the federal government’s largest and most complex technology portfolios—valued at over $12 billion. Since becoming CIO on October 29, 2023, Rathbun has advanced critical initiatives in digital modernization, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and enterprise data strategy.
Her tenure has been marked by landmark accomplishments: the nationwide rollout of Flank Speed—a zero-trust-aligned, cloud-based platform; the formal launch of Naval Identity Services as the enterprise identity and access management service; and the establishment of COSMOS and Naval Enterprise Service Desk for empowering Amazon Web Services GovCloud operations and optimized support.
A seasoned civilian executive, Rathbun’s nearly three-decade career spans senior-level positions across defense and space. Prior to becoming CIO, she was the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for information warfare and Navy chief technology officer and has held leadership roles at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Africa Command and NASA. Under her direction, the Navy has operationalized its 2020 Information Superiority Vision, anchored by the pillars of “modernize, innovate and defend.”
Mark Fedeli, Seekr
Joining Rathbun in conversation is Fedeli, director of business development for government solutions at Seekr, a technology company specializing in AI-enabled solutions. Fedeli brings over two decades of experience spanning software, national security and digital modernization efforts.
Fedeli’s career launched in the venture capital and startup sector and includes strategic roles at industry leaders like Qlik, Booz Allen, Informatica, CORAS, Innovative Decisions and Agent Logic. At Seekr, he spearheads partnerships with federal agencies, integrators and technology firms to deliver cutting-edge AI and analytics solutions tailored to public-sector needs.
Known for his deep understanding of defense workflows and decision-support systems, Fedeli previously contributed a framework for “Cost-Effective, Technology-Enabled Decision Superiority and Strategic Thinking” to Naval Air Systems Command’s Strategic Cell—solidifying his reputation as a forward-looking innovator within naval systems. In his various roles, he has supported high-profile DOD programs through systems integrators and agencies, including NAVAIR, PMW-205, the Office of Naval Research, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and OSD.
What Has Jane Rathbun Been Up To?
Rathbun has been plenty busy since her appearance at the 2025 Digital Transformation Summit in April. Since then, she:
- Unveiled the Navy software containerization policy
- Rathbun, in her memo, established a software containerization policy that could increase operational agility and boost resilience and optimization of Navy investments. Software containerization would enable the service to deploy applications across varied environments while increasing development cycle speed, strengthening security and slashing computing resource overhead.
- Announced a legacy IT network consolidation plan
- Rathbun in May issued a policy change to consolidate Navy and Marine Corps legacy and standalone IT networks into an enterprise information ecosystem with a goal of reducing exposure to cyber attacks, enhancing the user experience and improving technology investments, DefenseScoop reported.
- Accepted her second Wash100 Award
- Rathbun won her second straight Wash100 Award in 2025 for her work spearheading major efforts like advancing zero trust through Flank Speed and streamlining identity services across the Navy.
Dive into other Navy IT initiatives like zero trust at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Navy Summit on August 26! Hear directly from leading Navy officials during the “Zero Trust and Beyond: Securing the Navy’s Information Environment” panel. Strike up collaborations with other leading GovCon titans and land that big contract. Secure your seat today and boost your GovCon revenues in FY 2026!
