Why We Started Third Arrow
Most firms in the federal market focus on immediate problems—winning the next deal, fixing a troubled proposal, or shoring up gaps in a capture plan. That work is necessary, but it isn't sufficient.
We built Third Arrow Studios™ to be different.
We focus on the structural systems that enable long-term, sustainable growth—market intelligence, pipeline and capture discipline, strategic messaging architecture, and leadership capacity that turn strategy into repeatable performance.
That's the third arrow—the hardest work, but the most important.
The name comes from a centuries-old Japanese legend.
A samurai lord gave each of his three sons a single arrow and asked them to break it. They did so easily. Then he bound three arrows together and challenged them to break the bundle. They couldn't. His lesson: strength lies in unity—just as lasting growth comes when strategy, discipline, and execution reinforce one another.
We've seen what happens when growth depends on personalities and aspirations instead of systems and reality—when tactical wins aren't backed by strategic design. Our decades inside the federal market revealed a pattern: tactics win moments, but systems win over time.
Our mission is simple: to help federal innovators build growth systems that last—so success is never dependent on one deal, one relationship, or one lucky break.
That's the Third Arrow philosophy.
That's what we help you design.
Precise. Resilient. Unbreakable.™
Christina Seiden, Founder & Managing Principal
Christina Seiden is the Founder & Managing Principal of Third Arrow Studios™, bringing over 25 years of strategic business leadership and more than $1 billion in career bookings across business development, capture management, and strategic advisory roles in federal markets.
Ms. Seiden is a transformational leader who specializes in enterprise go-to-market strategy, competitive positioning, and building scalable growth systems. She has led organizations through critical inflection points—from market entry and expansion to operational transformation and cultural realignment—achieving measurable outcomes in revenue growth, win rate improvement, and market positioning.
As Senior Vice President at Excella LLC, she increased the company's win rate from 35% to 88%, grew revenue by 82%, and secured over $600 million in total bookings. She led P&L, sales, and delivery for a 300-person federal health and civilian portfolio at Empower AI (formerly NCI), and held senior leadership roles at CGI Federal, Raytheon, Deloitte, and Unisys—driving transformation across health, financial regulatory, and national security programs.
Ms. Seiden's expertise spans public sector, health and life sciences, financial services, and transportation markets. Her areas of focus include market intelligence and competitive analysis, pipeline development and opportunity qualification, capture strategy and win theme development, strategic messaging and executive positioning, and profit and loss management.
She holds a BA with a dual major in Legal Studies and Business Administration from William Woods College and has completed executive education at MIT's Sloan School of Management.
She is recognized as a WashingtonExec Pinnacle Award recipient for Business Development Executive of the Year (2023).
Gavin Gollehon, Principal
Gavin Gollehon is a Principal at Third Arrow Studios™, bringing nearly 20 years of strategic growth and operations leadership with more than $1 billion in new business secured across business development, systems design, and organizational scaling in competitive federal contracting environments.
Mr. Gollehon is a results-oriented executive who specializes in building the operational infrastructure that enables sustainable growth. He leads enterprise-wide strategic initiatives—from pipeline expansion and maturation to operational transformation and team capability development—implementing scalable systems that drive consistent revenue generation, improved win rates, and organizational performance.
As Market Vice President of Strategic Growth at Excella LLC, he guided corporate strategy for an $80 million technology consulting firm, expanding the qualified pipeline from $400 million to $1.5 billion and booking more than $450 million in new contracts. He implemented and matured enterprise-wide operational systems—including Salesforce dashboards, decision gate frameworks, and executive reporting tools—that enabled record-setting performance. He previously led strategic growth for a $400 million business unit at CGI Federal, designed agile collaboration platforms adopted enterprise-wide, and held leadership roles at GDIT, Hitachi Vantara Federal, and Attain—securing critical contracts with major federal agencies including FERC, USDA, DHS, IRS, OPM, EPA, and the Department of State.
Mr. Gollehon's expertise spans federal civilian, defense, intelligence, and health markets. His areas of focus include strategic planning and execution, operational systems design and optimization, pipeline governance and bid/no-bid decision frameworks, profit and loss management, business development and capture leadership, and organizational scaling and team development.
He holds an MPH with a focus on Management and Policy from Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University, and a BS in Health Education and Promotion from East Carolina University.
He is recognized as a DCA Live Rising Star in Government Contracting (2023).