Julian Setian

President and Chief Executive Officer, SOSi

Julian M. Setian is the President and CEO of SOSi, among the largest private technology and services integrators in the aerospace, defense, and government services industry. His mother founded the company in 1989 to provide foreign language support to the U.S. federal law enforcement community. He joined her in 1995, became the CEO in 2001, and, over the past 20 years, has diversified the business into logistics, intelligence, network engineering, and software development. He has completed four major acquisitions and grown the company at an average annual rate of 25% to more than 1,500 personnel worldwide.

Setian is also the founder and chairman of two other businesses in the technology and mining sectors. Exovera, a data analytics company he founded in 2012, uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to identify media narratives and measure public sentiment in support of both government and commercial enterprises. Another he founded in 2016, called Sodevco, provides socially responsible and environmentally friendly renewable energy and mining solutions in developing countries. Most notably, Sodevco established the first large-scale mineral processing capability in Afghanistan.

Setian is a hands-on philanthropist who personally fosters a culture of service at SOSi. One in four SOSi employees served in the U.S. military, and SOSi is proud to be a Virginia Values Veterans (V3) certified company. Under Setian’s leadership, the company actively supports a wide range of civic and nonprofit organizations that provide advocacy and assistance to active-duty military members, military spouses and caregivers, and veteran entrepreneurs. It also supports organizations that fund medical research, promote early STEM education, and provide advocacy and assistance to underserved communities and at-risk children. These include the PenFed Foundation, USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore, Bunker Labs, Cornerstones, Ayuda, the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Fight for Children, and Chance for Life.

Setian serves on the Executive Committee and is a past chairman of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO). He serves on the Executive Committee of the Professional Services Council (PSC) and the Board of Directors of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. He is also a member of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).

In 2020, Setian was named to the “Virginia 500 Power List” by Virginia Business. He is a two-time “Wash100” awardee for 2020 and 2019 and was selected by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Professional Services Council as an “Executive of the Year” finalist for its Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards. Setian was also recognized as a finalist for the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s “Cyber CEO of the Year” honor at its Capital Cyber Awards in 2020 and 2019.

Setian holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University.