Small Business,
Extensive Experience

GDX is a small business with extensive combined experience in the markets we serve. Having our roots in supply chain, technology development, and supporting special operations teams around the world, our reputation has centered us at the nexus of solving the most difficult challenges our clients currently faced with, and most importantly, will meet in the future.

OUR MISSION

3d,Rendered,Empty,,Modern,,Futuristic,Command,Center,Interior

To design and build market leading intuitive systems that provide end-users the operational edge and enhanced mission awareness.

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Our Vision

To become the preeminent choice our clients turn to, to solve complex challenges in the environments they operate in, by cultivating a values-based culture within our organization always focused on the mission.

OUR ETHOS

OUR ETHOS

Mission and purpose is at our core.

Clients always over bottom line. The financials of our company are dependent on the outcomes our clients experience.

Research and Development is a core tenant. The challenges and requirements our clients will confront in the future will lead our company’s endeavors.

Foster a culture which allows our team to be creative, market competitive, and collaborative.

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Leadership

Michael Gates

Chief Executive Officer

Michael leads Gates Defense Systems (GDX Development) having nearly 20 years of Supply Chain and National Security experience. He continues to push the limits of innovation with his team on edge sensor fusion, data visualization, and situational awareness in austere and complex environments.

Brian Files

EVP, CFO

Brian is proven team builder in new and challenging environments. Expertise includes strategic business development, risk assessment/mitigation, statutory and regulatory analysis, advocacy/KOl management, international government affairs, and transformative operations change.

James Markley

CTIO

James spearheads the GDX Development Technical Vision and Innovation leveraging his 21 years experience in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, System Planning and Integration (including both COTS and proprietary systems), and machine and client based coding and markup languages (including software development and publishing).

Chris Costa

Advisor

Mr. Costa served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council (NSC).

James Freitas

Advisor

Mr. James Elliott Freitas retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2020, after serving nearly 30-years with the Federal Government.

Dennis Holden

EVP, CTIO

Michael Gates –
Chief Executive Officer

Michael leads Gates Defense Systems (GDX Development) having nearly 20 years of Supply Chain and National Security experience. Following earning his degree at Auburn University and developing supply chain subject matter expertise, he went on to lead British Airways for eight years as Director for Multinational Sales, focusing on international client growth across Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Toward the end of his career at BA, Michael began supporting several US –based non-profits focused on the Syrian refugee crisis, later founding Resurgens Global dedicated to helping women and children adversely effected by the war in Syria. Michael was recognized by Face Forward Foundation for his work in Iraq, where he delivered critical surgical care to several children who had been injured in the war.

It was during this time, he decided build a company focused solely on solving very complex National Security challenges and founded Gates Defense Systems (GDX) in 2018. In 2020 also teamed up with U.Group (now Intellibridge) serving as Vice President of Special Operations & Intelligence, tasked with building up their SpecOps and Intelligence division. By 2021, Gates Defense was performing on several SOCOM contracts, delivering situational awareness capability to our nations most elite forces, and offering direct support for personnel recovery efforts in Afghanistan, Sudan, and most recently Ukraine.

Michael continues to push the limits of innovation with his team on edge sensor fusion, data visualization, and situational awareness in austere and complex environments.

Brian Files –
EVP, CFO

Brian is proven team builder in new and challenging environments with demonstrated ability to manage complex initiatives across both highly matrixed and start-up organizations. Expertise includes strategic business development, risk assessment/mitigation, statutory and regulatory analysis, advocacy/KOl management, international government affairs, and transformative operations change.

In his current role Brian provides structure, operational controls, administrative procedures, budget controls, forecast modeling to manage fiscal goals and operating efficiency. Additional responsibilities include negotiations, corporate structure design, risk mitigation, standard operating procedures, and corporate affairs.

Brian has held corporate leadership and global positions at Johnson & Johnson, Sepracor, Invo Bioscience, LogistiCare, and Amerisource Bergen, CVS Health in various International, U.S. Federal and U.S. State capacities managing subject matters in healthcare, technology, intellectual property, market access, regulations, infrastructure, operations, and risk management.

Brian holds an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from Cornell University.

James Markley -- CTIO

In 2012, James joined the government contracting community, supporting three organizations across three different international footprints. In 2015 he assumed the role of Director of Operations for a government contracting entity providing direct support to the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), departing his role in 2018 to pursue his continued passion in technology and communications. In 2021, James as a founding member, secured a multi-year blanket purchase agreement, government wide acquisition contract with a coalition partner to provide satellite communications, data backhaul, and personnel tracking to coalition forces using commercially available communications networks.

He has founded and led at an executive level four startup companies, with two of them holding international entities. His experience in international business brings a well rounded knowledge of International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulation (EAR) in technology products.

He brings extensive business experience in Southwest Asia (including the Middle East region and North Africa within the communications, sensor, and personnel tracking spaces. His corporate experience in the government contracting sectors has spanned through four branches of the US Military and the US Intelligence Community, with all experience supporting national security and defense.

He is extensively involved in community service throughout the Tampa Bay region serving on the Seminar For Tomorrow's Leaders (S4TL) Board of Directors for the last six years. He is an active Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow, along with a member of the Bequest Society. He's traveled throughout the Honduras-Nicaragua border region providing biological sand water filters to rural mountain communities changing the lives of children and ensuring that clean water is provided to citizens of the region.

Chris Costa –
Advisor

Mr. Costa served as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the National Security Council (NSC). At the NSC, he was responsible for coordinating counterterrorism policy and strategy as well as U.S. hostage recovery activities. Mr. Costa had 34 years of progressive national security experience and well‐documented success in strategy, policy, special operations, counterintelligence, and human intelligence, deploying on multiple contingencies and to combat operations in the Republic of Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Mr. Costa's last assignment with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was as Program Director in the Operations Directorate.

Preceding USSOCOM, Mr. Costa served as a Department of the Navy civilian at the Naval Special Warfare Development Group – with US Navy SEALs, and as a Senior Adjunct Instructor with Norwich University's Bachelor of Science in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis Program; with Norwich University, he taught on topics related to national security, strategy, and counterterrorism.

He holds an M.A. in Strategic Intelligence from American Military University; an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College; and a B.A. from Norwich University. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and two Bronze Stars. In May 2013, Mr. Costa was inducted into USSOCOM’s Commando Hall of Honor for extraordinary and enduring service to Special Operations Forces.

Most recently, Mr. Costa joined the International Spy Museum in 2018 as the Executive Director where he will plays a leading role in building on its extraordinary success as a Washington attraction and speaking responsibly on current counterterrorism and intelligence issues.

James Freitas –
Advisor

Mr. James Elliott Freitas retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2020, after serving nearly 30-years with the Federal Government. During his time with CIA, Mr. Freitas served as an Operations Officer in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and the United States, most recently as Chief of Training for the CIA's Operational Training Program.

Mr. Freitas is a certified instructor and specializes in training related to the threat of Ubiquitous Technical Surveillance. Prior to his tenure at CIA, Mr. Freitas served as a Foreign Service Officer with the Department of State and as a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Treasury, where he specialized in money laundering investigations related to counter narcotic operations.

Mr. Freitas received a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California of Los Angeles (UCLA).

Dennis Holden – EVP/ Chief Technology and Innovation Officer

Dennis is a U.S. Navy Veteran with over two decades of technical and leadership experience in business, information technology service management, and system integration, punctuated by a track record of accomplishments in diverse and challenging cyber environments. As the CTIO of GDX Development he is responsible for using technology to innovate rapidly and the overall technical strategy and tactical execution of software development, maintenance, and operations. Dennis is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School (Master’s in Computer Science) and the University of Virginia (Master’s in Information Technology Management). While in the U.S. Navy he was qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and Information Dominance Warfare Officer.

Small Business,Extensive Experience

OUR MISSION

Our Vision

OUR ETHOS

OUR ETHOS

Leadership

Michael Gates

Brian Files

James Markley

Advisors

Chris Costa

James Freitas

Dennis Holden

Michael Gates –Chief Executive Officer

Brian Files –EVP, CFO

James Markley -- CTIO

Chris Costa –Advisor

James Freitas –Advisor

Dennis Holden – EVP/ Chief Technology and Innovation Officer

Small Business,
Extensive Experience

Michael Gates –
Chief Executive Officer

Brian Files –
EVP, CFO

Chris Costa –
Advisor

James Freitas –
Advisor