Why We Started Third Arrow
Most firms in the government 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 discipline, capture leadership, and organizational 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, intelligence, discipline, and execution reinforce one another.
Over decades inside the government contracting market, 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.
Tactics win moments, but systems win over time.
Our mission is to help founder-led government contractors build the systems, discipline, and enterprise value that make the future possible—so growth 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, CEPA® — Founder & Managing Principal
Christina is Founder & Managing Principal of Third Arrow Studios™ and an enterprise growth and transformation executive with more than 30 years of experience transforming how government contractors compete, operate, and build enterprise value.
Her career spans enterprise strategy, business transformation, and operational leadership across the most complex and highly regulated markets—including public sector, health and life sciences, financial services, transportation, and national security. She has led organizations through critical inflection points—from business unit restructurings and go-to-market transformations to cultural and operating model shifts—aligning enterprise strategy, organizational design, market intelligence, operating discipline, and leadership accountability to help organizations navigate disruption, manage risk, and position themselves for long-term success.
At Empower AI (formerly NCI), Christina restructured and grew a 300-person, approximately $100 million business unit, reducing indirect costs by 47%, driving 17% organic on-contract growth, and exceeding revenue and profit goals by 25% and 86%, respectively. At Excella, she led a multi-year transformation of the firm’s go-to-market operating system, resulting in 82% revenue growth, an increase in win rate from 35% to 88%, and more than $600 million in total bookings.
She also held senior leadership roles with CGI Federal, Raytheon, Deloitte, and Unisys, advancing enterprise strategy, growth, and business transformation across diverse organizations and markets.
Through Third Arrow Studios™, Christina advises government contractors on enterprise strategy, business transformation, and building enterprise value. As a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®), she applies the Value Acceleration Methodology™ to help business owners improve transferability, create optionality, and align business, personal, and financial goals—strengthening enterprise value and positioning businesses for long-term success.
Christina believes leadership extends beyond client engagements through active service to professional organizations and the community. She serves as Board Secretary for the Women’s Club of Great Falls Scholarship Fund. She is an active member of the Technology Marketing Alliance and the Daughters of the American Revolution and volunteers with Aspire Afterschool Learning, supporting educational opportunity and regional workforce development.
Christina holds a BA with a dual major in Legal Studies and Business Administration from William Woods College and has completed executive education at MIT Sloan School of Management. She was named the WashingtonExec Pinnacle Award Business Development Executive of the Year (2023).
Gavin Gollehon, Principal, Growth Strategy & Operations
Gavin Gollehon is a Principal, Growth Strategy & Operations 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 $3.5 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).