Kevin Kelly

Chairman and CEO, Arcfield

A seasoned leader with decades of experience in the defense and intelligence sectors, Kevin Kelly has consistently demonstrated an ability to steer Arcfield toward innovation and measurable impact. He has made the Industry Executives to Watch list for the fifth consecutive year.

Under his leadership, Arcfield grew from a startup to a formidable powerhouse, cementing its position as a critical partner in national security. One of Kelly’s most significant recent achievements has been leading the strategic acquisition of Rite-Solutions, an industry leader specializing in undersea warfare engineering. This carefully executed acquisition represents a transformative milestone for Arcfield’s capabilities portfolio by adding critical maritime and subsea mission expertise.

Since becoming CEO in 2021, Kelly has green-lighted substantial R&D investments — including advanced missile-tracking systems, ionospheric monitoring sensors, VLEO deployment technologies, and AI applications — which are now immediately available to Rite-Solutions’ customers. This acquisition accelerates delivery capabilities without traditional development timelines or costs.

“The acquisition of Rite was a meticulously planned and executed milestone to round out our company’s now full-spectrum capabilities,” Kelly said. “By uniting Arcfield’s technological innovations with Rite-Solutions’ maritime expertise, we deliver unprecedented integrated solutions across all operational domains.”

Why Watch

Now in its fifth year, Kelly remains focused on sustaining the company’s upward trajectory. Founded in 2021 as a carve-out with no back-office infrastructure, no leadership team and just 12 programs supporting 1,100 employees, Arcfield has transformed under his guidance. The company now employs over 2,200 professionals, manages a diverse portfolio of hundreds of contracts, operates secure purpose-built facilities and has invested nearly $20 million in research and development.

In 2026, Kelly is concentrating on three priorities: seamlessly integrating Rite Solutions, advancing AI-enabled Model-Based Systems Engineering, and expanding Arcfield’s footprint across defense and intelligence missions.

Since its inception, the company has prioritized process automation and AI-enabled solutions to reduce operational expenses. The crown jewel of these efforts is Arcfield’s Intelligent Model-Based Systems Engineering platform. This revolutionary system transforms engineering processes, freeing engineers from document mining and manual model creation to focus on higher-value design innovation. Its human-AI teaming interface ensures accountability while dramatically improving efficiency.

Arcfield’s enterprise-wide AI tools also accelerate technological solution development, produce higher-quality proposals with fewer resources, provide real-time performance analytics, and streamline talent acquisition. This commitment to quality and efficiency is shared across all 2,200 employees, positioning Arcfield to deliver unparalleled value while reducing costs.

Fun fact: Kelly’s leadership is deeply influenced by an unconventional childhood. Born in Beirut to CIA parents, he spent his early years navigating a nomadic lifestyle across Moscow, Nairobi and Athens. To Kelly, life meant wandering vibrant bazaars, chasing baboons out of backyard banana trees, or roasting lamb over a charcoal spit on the front lawn. Only after returning to the U.S. for middle and high school did Kelly realize the value and uniqueness of his upbringing — and how profoundly it shaped him and continues to shape him today.