Invest Like The Best
Episode 417 The Business of Defense
Invest Like The Best

Episode 417: The Business of Defense

Invest Like The Best

Episode 417

The Business of Defense

Darren Farber is the Managing Partner of Albion River. We cover how the defense industry is changing, the delicate balance between the use of innovative new technologies and traditional warfare tactics in a theater of conflict, and his investment philosophy of "getting closer to the molecule".

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Show Notes:

(00:00:00) Introduction and Show Overview

(00:06:23) The Changing Role of the US in Global Defense

(00:09:23) Evaluating Defense Budgets and Spending

(00:11:41) Commercial Technology in Defense

(00:15:37) Challenges and Innovations in Defense Procurement

(00:22:36) US Defense Strategy and Global Order

(00:37:34) The Future of Warfare

(00:42:13) Lessons from the Gaza Contingency

(00:44:44) Challenges in Defense Venture Capital

(00:47:36) The Importance of Responsible Parties in Defense

(00:51:06) Industrial Capacity and Defense Investments

(00:53:49) Lessons from US Defense Primes

(00:59:48) Supply and Demand in Defense Markets

(01:07:34) The Role of Net-Centric Warfare

(01:10:33) Hopes and Fears for the Future of Kinetic Warfare

(01:14:42) The Kindest Thing Anyone Ever Did For Darren

The Business of Defense

Introduction

Patrick
My guest today is Darren Farber. Darren is the Managing Partner of Albion River, a private direct investment firm focused on acquiring companies that produce highly technical defense products and services. He is a former Special Advisor to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, a former member of the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, and the list goes on and on. Darren is a wealth of knowledge in this space and someone I am grateful to have in the U.S. Corner.

He shares his perspective on the changing role of the U.S. in global defense, and how recent conflicts have shaped military technology and strategy. Darren explains his investment approach at Albion, focusing on finding one-of-one suppliers and getting as close to what he calls the fundamental molecules as possible in defense technology.

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