Mike Nachshen is not your typical marketing and communications guy.
That’s not to say he doesn’t implement modern communications practices, understand strategic marketing or integrate business goals into the messaging he helps clients create. However, he brings specialized expertise to a niche clientele that demands a level of insight not readily available elsewhere.
As founder of Fortis Strategic Communications, LLC, Nachshen runs a boutique communications consultancy focused exclusively on the aerospace and defense sector, serving clients ranging from startups to multibillion-dollar corporations. He brings decades of experience from his work as a high-level communications and marketing executive, both in the Air Force and at a Fortune 50.
With its specialized focus, Nachshen positions Fortis Strategic Communications to continue providing high-impact communications support for aerospace and defense companies in an industry where nuanced, informed messaging can mean the difference between winning or losing crucial government contracts.
From Armed Forces to Arming Teams
Before establishing Fortis, Nachshen’s career path included significant roles that honed his strategic communication skills and insight into the defense industry. His journey began in college, where he joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps after seeing students in uniform piqued his interest in a military career. This interest led him to serve as an active-duty public affairs officer and intelligence officer in the Air Force, a time he describes as full of “interesting work” with “phenomenal people.”
Nachshen later transitioned to the private sector and began a career with Raytheon, one of the defense industry’s largest players. At Raytheon, now part of RTX, he held roles of increasing responsibility, eventually leading international communications for the Missiles & Defense division, valued at $16 billion.
Armed with this insider’s perspective on the complexities of the A&D industry, he now brings his insights to clients looking for an extra brain to solve high-level strategic problems, build business in a highly competitive and regulated industry or deftly handle crisis communications.
Company Launch
In founding Fortis, Nachshen aimed to provide specialized communications support for A&D companies seeking to win new business, defend or protect market share, and protect or enhance their reputations.
The business serves a wide range of clients, including privately held startups, private equity-owned corporations, and publicly traded companies, each of which understands the importance of strategic communications in driving growth and sustaining value.
Fortis offers expertise across various scenarios, including messaging, crisis management, and communications strategy. One of Nachshen’s current clients is a multibillion-dollar private equity-owned company competing for a large Defense Department contract. As part of this effort, Fortis is developing a “messaging architecture” — a strategic narrative that highlights the client’s unique capabilities, positions the organization as the best choice for DOD’s needs, while subtly undermining the competition.
This narrative-driven approach will be used by the client in its customer proposal, presentations to the customer and to guide the creation of public-facing marketing materials. By focusing on what makes his clients uniquely capable, Nachshen helps companies emphasize their value in a crowded market.
Filling a Niche
Nachshen sees Fortis as filling a void most PR agencies can’t even reach when it comes to supporting A&D clients looking for a high-level strategic partner.
“It’s about specialized experience and expertise,” he said. “There are clearly hundreds, if not thousands of public relations agencies out there. But aerospace and defense is unlike any other market. It’s not just about knowing the customer. It’s about understanding the entire ecosystem — the players, the subs, the competitors, the industry, the major events, the regulatory landscape, the political and geopolitical forces at play.”
Nachshen believes this in-depth understanding sets Fortis apart from other firms, which may not provide the same level of insight.
“They may have a senior person who has A&D expertise, perhaps, but the day-to-day work is handled by junior staff who probably don’t have that nuanced industry understanding,” he said. “One morning, they’re going to be working on dog food, and in the afternoon, they’re going to jump to missile defense.”
Integrating AI
In an industry increasingly impacted by artificial intelligence, Nachshen leverages AI to improve Fortis’s services for select clients.
Nachshen, an early adopter of AI in MarCom, emphasized there’s a wrong way to use it.
“AI use has to be transparent, and with the full consent and buy-in of a client,” he said.
As a fractional chief communications officer for Volan Technology, an aerospace startup that uses AI in its communications and marketing, Nachshen has developed a custom GPT tool to accelerate the company’s unique marketing efforts.
Volan’s CEO humorously refers to the tool as “our intern,” which Nachshen sees as an apt analogy.
“Interns can do good work, but they can also do some crazy stuff,” he said. “So, you’ve got to watch them carefully. There always has to be a human in the loop.”
Winning Business and Protecting Market Share
Fortis primarily works with senior communications executives, business development professionals, C-suite leaders and revenue executives. These clients rely on Nachshen to act as a “second brain” and strategic partner who understands both the communications fundamentals and the intricacies of the A&D industry.
Through Fortis, Nachshen offers not only expertise but also a sounding board for overburdened communications leaders needing senior-level support. His consultancy fills the gaps left by generalist firms and provides tailored, industry-specific guidance, making Fortis a critical partner for A&D companies aiming to navigate a highly regulated, complex, competitive landscape.
Fortis’s two-pronged strategy centers on messaging architecture and stakeholder engagement to protect and expand client market share. Nachshen guides clients through a collaborative, iterative process to develop messaging that not only tells their story but aligns with the needs of key decision-makers. This involves identifying overlaps between what the client offers, what the customer wants, and the competitors’ weaknesses, which then forms the core of the messaging.
“Ultimately, the goal is giving my client the tools to tell a story that’s not about themselves but about the customer,” Nachshen said. “A good messaging architecture makes the customer the hero of the story.”