Empower AI has appointed Ryan Hopper as vice president and leader of its military services business unit as it continues to deliver artificial intelligence-enabled technology services that support federal and defense missions.
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The company said Tuesday Hopper succeeds Darryl Jackson, who will continue serving Empower AI by supporting its Army customer under Total Engineering and Integration Services IV task orders.
Jeff Bohling, CEO of Empower AI, described Hopper as a “powerful addition” to the business unit leadership team.
“He delivers a strategic outcome-based mindset for growth, a clear dedication to our military customers, and a strong focus on applying emerging technology at scale, which will help Empower AI achieve our collective goals,” the two-time Wash100 awardee said.
Who Is Ryan Hopper?
With over 20 years of experience in defense and intelligence, Hopper has built a career leading high-stakes national security programs. Prior to his role at Empower AI, he was a vice president at Peraton, overseeing a strategic operating unit dedicated to combatant commands and defense customers. His tenure at Peraton also included service as an operating unit director and as the program manager for the Information Technology Capabilities Contract II, supporting U.S. Strategic Command.
Earlier in his career, Hopper held program management and engineering roles at Perspecta, Vencore, The SI Organization, Lockheed Martin and Unisys.
In his new role, Hopper looks forward to helping Empower AI support critical military missions.
“I’m extremely excited to join the Empower AI team and to move the needle for some of our nation’s most critical military customers,” he said. “I’m even more excited to enable our customers to implement AI and modernized IT systems faster across a variety of use cases, to drive efficiencies at scale and stay ahead of our adversaries.”
What Recent Milestones Has Empower AI Achieved in Federal AI Work?
Empower AI has continued expanding its portfolio of AI-enabled federal offerings. In 2025, the company secured a contract valued at more than $200 million from the U.S. Army to modernize infrastructure across more than 80 installations. Recently, it earned “Awardable” status from the Department of War’s Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace for its AI-based automation tools.
