John M. Owens, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
John M. Owens, Jr. is a seasoned executive, entrepreneur, and former naval officer with more than three decades of leadership experience spanning defense services, aerospace, technology, and national security. As Chief Executive Officer of Intrepid Defense Partners, he provides strategic leadership and helps shape a company grounded in mission, accountability, and principled execution.
Before Intrepid, John built and led companies across defense, aviation, technology, and manufacturing. From 2006 to 2021, he served as Chairman and CEO of Prevailance, Inc., leading the company through sustained growth to approximately $25 million in annual revenue. In 2015, he founded Prevailance Aerospace, LLC to address critical gaps in general aviation safety training; the company grew into a leading provider of Upset Recovery Training before being acquired in 2018. He later co-founded Ingenetech Corporation, focused on strengthening American engineering and manufacturing by helping small businesses and innovative start-ups scale with greater quality, discipline, and operational rigor.
John's business leadership is grounded in a distinguished 24-year military career that began with enlistment in the United States Marine Corps and continued through a commission as a United States Navy officer. He deployed multiple times as an F-14 Tomcat fighter pilot before serving in senior operational and staff assignments across Joint, NATO, and cyber operations mission areas. That experience established the operational discipline, accountability, and mission focus that continue to shape his approach to leadership and company-building.
Throughout his career, John has combined an operator's understanding of consequential missions with an entrepreneur's willingness to build organizations around difficult problems. At Intrepid, he brings those perspectives together in setting the company's direction, developing strategic relationships, and maintaining a long-term focus on mission, people, and responsible growth.
John holds degrees from Asbury University, James Madison University, where he earned a master's degree in Information Security, and the College of William & Mary, where he earned his MBA. He has completed advanced professional education at the National Defense University and Air Force Command and Staff College, has served on civic and educational boards, and is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Virginia's Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.