Following the news that Juan Toves would leverage his two decades of experience in government contracting, a history of driving strategic growth and leading high-performing teams, and perspective gained through service on the AFCEA International Board of Directors to a new role leading Empower AI’s enterprise growth strategy, business development, and capture operations, we caught up to learn more.
A Strong Foundation and An Exciting Path Ahead
I joined Empower AI because this is a company with deep roots and an exciting future ahead. The decision to rebrand in 2022 signaled a deep commitment to applying AI in meaningful, mission-driven ways that elevate government outcomes. That kind of clarity and courage resonates with me.
What excites me most is the opportunity to build on a strong foundation of trust, delivery, and people-first culture, while bringing a sharper edge to growth. I’ve spent my career helping organizations scale intelligently. My role here is to help accelerate the momentum we already have, by aligning the right strategy, structure, and partnerships to drive results for our clients and for the mission.
Next Steps Towards High-Performance Growth
My focus is on building a high-performance growth engine, one that combines the grit of GovCon with the agility and innovation of a digital-first mindset. That means maturing our business development infrastructure, sharpening our go-to-market strategy, and reinforcing our presence in priority sectors.
But growth isn’t just about pipeline. It’s about people. We’re building a culture of accountability, speed, and ownership. And we’re doing it with an eye on long-term, sustainable impact. With the right alignment of mission, talent, and tools, Empower AI is poised to scale smarter and faster.
Moving from Experimentation to Capability
Across the GovCon landscape, there’s a growing urgency to turn experimentation into operationalized capability. AI and automation are no longer optional, they’re expected. But government customers still face adoption hurdles: lack of trust in models, outdated infrastructure, and long procurement cycles.
Our job is to help agencies cut through that complexity. To deliver results, not just roadmaps. That means embedding AI into existing service delivery, improving speed to mission, and delivering measurable outcomes (like what we did with GSA), implementing automations that saved time and delivered real-time insight.
An Opportunity for Small Business
We’re absolutely open to hearing from partners, especially innovative small businesses with niche capabilities in AI/ML, cyber, cloud, and mission IT. If you bring something unique to the table (technical depth, customer intimacy, or delivery precision) we want to hear from you.
This is a team that values collaboration. We believe good partnerships are built on aligned values, transparency, and trust. If you share that philosophy, please reach out.
We’ve supported mission after mission with integrity and excellence. Now, we’re stepping into a new chapter, one defined by bold moves, data-driven transformation, and a relentless focus on outcomes.
