Taft hosted the Wharton Aerospace Community’s Aerospace Ventures Summit at its Washington, D.C., office on Oct. 15-16, 2025.

The two-day summit brought together approximately 250 government officials, business leaders, policy experts, and investors to address critical challenges facing America’s industrial base. The conference featured panel discussions on supply chain weaponization, market crafting, investing in the industrial base, maritime dominance, and critical minerals, focusing on reimagining American industrial competitiveness in an era of intensifying global competition.

Taft attorney Alexander Gorelik participated in a panel titled “Reimagining the Industrial Base: Primes, New Entrants, Int’l Partnering, New Ways of Financing.” The panel explored how primes, new entrants, and international partners are forging transformative collaborations through creative financing models to unlock agility, competition, and resiliency across global supply chains. Panelists discussed actionable strategies and disruptive solutions designed to propel industry evolution in the defense and manufacturing ecosystem.

Gorelik is a member of Taft’s Government Contracts group.