Jacob James Kahn
Digital & Business Transformation, Lockheed Martin (1LMX) · General Partner, Phoenix Fund
Board oversight for the moment technology changes the numbers.
Jacob James Kahn works on Lockheed Martin's 1LMX program, the defense industry's largest ERP transformation (~$6B). He brings public-company systems implementation, accounting, private capital and AI oversight training to the board's hardest questions: whether controls hold through change, whether technology programs deliver, and how AI is governed.
Certified Private Company Governance Director (Private Directors Association) · Candidate, NACD Directorship Certification
Board service at a glance
- Board Observer since 2020 · technology and financial-services portfolio companies
- Board of Directors · Harvard Alumni Defense & Aerospace
- Former Board and Finance & Audit Committee · Easterseals Massachusetts
Focus
Financial controls through technology change
Lockheed Martin 1LMX; Agilent SAP S/4HANA; MS, Accounting & Data Analytics; former Finance & Audit Committee, Easterseals Massachusetts.
AI and technology oversight
University of Oxford programs in AI and digital transformation and in AI, justice and the rule of law (2026); member, InfraGard (Rhode Island).
Private capital and private company governance
General Partner, Phoenix Fund; board observer since 2020; Certified Private Company Governance Director; Private Equity Company Governance certificate.
Seat soughtAn audit or risk committee seat where technology change puts financial controls under pressure.
Board skills
| Skill | Has skill | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Technology & ERP transformation | Yes | Lockheed Martin 1LMX (2023–present); Agilent Technologies global SAP S/4HANA and CPQ implementation (2021) |
| Financial controls & accounting | Yes | MS, Accounting & Data Analytics (Gies College of Business); former Finance & Audit Committee, Easterseals Massachusetts (2019–2021) |
| Enterprise & technology risk | Yes | Governance of technology risk, system integration and program delivery on Lockheed Martin 1LMX |
| AI oversight | Yes | University of Oxford: AI and Digital Transformation in Government; AI, Justice, and the Rule of Law (2026) |
| Institutional investing & private capital | Yes | General Partner, Phoenix Fund (2023–present); Cambridge Associates, Endowments & Foundations practice (2022–2023); Yale SOM Executive Education, Investment Management |
| Defense & aerospace; financial services | Yes | Lockheed Martin; Board of Directors, Harvard Alumni Defense & Aerospace; Brown Brothers Harriman; board observer at financial-services portfolio companies |
Thesis
Financial controls rarely fail in steady state. They fail during transformation.
Read the thesis
Verifiable record
Full board service| Record | Detail | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Current role | Digital & Business Transformation, Lockheed Martin | 2023–present |
| Board of Advisors | Boston University Questrom MBA Alumni Council | 2026–present |
| General Partner | Phoenix Fund | 2023–present |
| Board of Directors (with nomination and governance committee responsibilities) | Harvard Alumni Defense & Aerospace (a Harvard Alumni Association shared interest group) | 2023–present |
| Board Observer | Technology and financial-services portfolio companies (confidential) | 2020–present |
| Board of Directors; Finance & Audit Committee | Easterseals Massachusetts | 2019–2021 |
| Advisory Board Member | Harvard Innovation Labs portfolio companies (EchelonVR, PrioritasApp) | 2018–2024 |
| Certified Private Company Governance Director | Private Directors Association | |
| Candidate, NACD Directorship Certification | NACD | |
| AI and Digital Transformation in Government | Saïd Business School, University of Oxford | Sep 2026 |
| AI, Justice, and the Rule of Law (certificate) | University of Oxford | Sep 2026 |
| Certificate in Private Company Governance | Private Directors Association | Dec 2025 |
| Private Equity Company Governance | Private Directors Association | Dec 2025 |
| ESOP Governance Essentials | Private Directors Association | Dec 2025 |
| Dual Bachelor's–Master's Degrees, General Management | Harvard University | |
| MBA | Boston University Questrom School of Business | |
| MS, Accounting & Data Analytics | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business | |
| Executive Education, Investment Management (2023) | Yale School of Management | |
| Profiles | LinkedIn · ORCID |
Latest writing
The Boardroom Brief- Before the go-live: seven questions directors should ask about an ERP cutover
A finance-system cutover is the biggest single control event most companies go through. These are the questions that turn a status update into evidence.
- Controls don't fail in steady state: keeping ICFR intact through transformation
Internal control over financial reporting is most at risk when the business is changing fastest. Boards can keep it intact by treating controls as part of the design.
- Beyond the green dashboard: reading a program status report as a director
A status color is a claim, not evidence. Here is how directors can read a technology program report for what it does not say.