Engineering the Future.
From the earliest computing concepts to today’s most advanced cloud architectures, every breakthrough has been fueled by bold ideas and relentless problem solving. At Cognita, IT innovation isn’t just about technology—it’s about transforming vision into scalable, high-impact solutions that drive real-world impact. By harnessing emerging technologies, automation, and agile methodologies, we design intelligent, adaptive systems that evolve with your mission.
We engineer the future when we operate from curiosity, exploration, cooperation, self-mastery, creativity, and service—unlocking solutions that elevate industries and transform lives.
We engineer the future when we foster mutual respect, responsibility, compassion, social harmony, and a shared sense of higher purpose—aligning technology with humanity, nature, and the cosmos.
“To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – R. Buckminster Fuller
Our Values
Creativity
for meaningful innovation.
Alignment
for dynamic responsiveness.
Productivity
for sustained
value.
Creative Innovation
Creative innovation solves problems, reimagines possibilities, and challenges convention to create future value. It thrives on deep engagement with the world, people, and ideas. It requires us to move past our own limitations and artificial barriers, and embrace collective creativity without prejudice. We observe without assumption so possibilities can emerge. We choose the most resonant idea through alignment and momentum. We allow unexpected influences to shape us. We embrace uncertainty knowing that it is part of the process.
Dynamic Alignment
Dynamic alignment enables a business to move as a cohesive intelligent and responsive ecosystem. It is built on integrity, empathy, and adaptability in order to drive continuous evolution. It allows breakthroughs to emerge through experimentation, intuition, and deep listening to market shifts. At Cognita, we cultivate this—within our teams, our customers, and our partners—because dynamic alignment is the foundation of a connected, thriving business.
Consistent Productivity
We seek to maximize productivity by aligning with resonant teams that amplify efficiency and creativity through fully engaged work. Our work then reflects the deep focus, flexibility, and intuition that sustain momentum. When we align every strategy with a clear, high-energy purpose, we ensure meaningful contributions and consistent productivity for sustained value.
Our Blueprint
The Cognita Code
Cognita’s team members work in highly dynamic environments, applying outcome-driven, solution-oriented thinking to every customer engagement. We take a quantum-informed, systems-level approach to leadership and innovation—treating organizations as interconnected ecosystems where context, agility, and relational intelligence matter as much as strategic direction and technical skill. Whether partnering with leading commercial companies or federal agencies, Cognita is trusted for its engineering rigor, collaborative mindset, and ability to drive success with clarity and velocity.
Rachael Babcock, Global CEO
Ms. Babcock is a visionary and results-driven technology executive with 25+ years of leadership experience spanning high-growth startups, mid-sized enterprises, and Fortune 500 companies across North America and EMEA in both private and public sectors. With her 12 years in C-suite roles (CEO, CRO, CCO, CINO), along with expertise in sales, business development, engineering, and consulting, Rachael excels at aligning business and technology to create scalable, high-impact solutions. Ms. Babcock has been recognized for decisive leadership, mature business judgment, and a commitment to fostering high-performance cultures that thrive on agility, collaboration, and innovation. She is passionate about leveraging quantum principles of interconnected ecosystems, adaptive exploration, and co-creative relationships to unlock human potential and drive sustainable growth. Ms. Babcock holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee along with an extensive list of professional licenses and certifications.
From the Desk of the CEO
Industry talks about the Age of Intelligence – a world where AI automates and accelerates decision-making at scale. But AI intelligence is the feature, not the benefit.
The real shift is into an era of HD Intelligence – Human-Directed Intelligence that operates in high definition. Intelligent systems become infrastructure, and value comes from how leaders aim, govern, and apply that intelligence in complex, real-world ecosystems.
Cognita was built for this moment. We stand in the arena – with teams accountable for outcomes, not abstractions. In this world saturated with models and data, the scarce asset is human-directed intelligence: the ability to see across systems, hold multiple possible futures (a quantum-informed perspective), and dynamically align people, tools, and capital around what matters most.
In a world of intelligent systems, our human advantage is that we imagine boldly, care deeply, judge wisely, connect meaningfully, and take responsibility for the worlds that we create. This is our living intelligence, and our rarest and most valuable asset.
Our mandate is clear: creative innovation that sets new patterns, not just optimizes old ones; dynamic alignment across functions and partners as conditions change; and consistent productivity with solution-oriented rigor and outcome-driven execution.
This is the opportunity of our time: not just to leverage intelligent systems, but to design and steward them so organizations become more resilient, more innovative, and more fully alive in their purpose.
At Cognita, we call this HD Intelligence – and we build it the same way we build everything else: High Impact. Built Clean.
— Rachael Babcock
Global CEO, Cognita
December 2025
THE MAN IN THE ARENA
Theodore Roosevelt’s 1910 “Man in the Arena” speech emphasizes the importance of disciplined work and character over idle criticism, laziness and inaction. Success belongs to those who dare to enter the arena—to engage fully, to struggle, and to persist. As he puts it: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles…The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly…”
The Meaning Behind Cognita
Cognita is the feminine form of the Latin cognitus, which means “understanding.”
The name reflects our commitment to knowledge and awareness in order to foster growth, inspire progress, and drive meaningful change for all. Only with deep understanding and wisdom is real progress possible.
Dr. Gaurav Khanna
Dr. Gaurav Khanna is an expert in leveraging traditional and generative AI technologies to develop platforms that streamline and automate business processes. At Cisco, Dr. Khanna has spearheaded AI-driven innovations in skills-based routing, resource scheduling, and chatbot development. His recent work advances Large Language Models (LLMs) for knowledge automation, Q&A, and AI-powered assistants. Dr. Khanna holds a B.S. in Physics from Yale, a Master’s and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford, and currently teaches AI courses at Stanford Continuing Studies.
Ms. Tina Valdez, COO
Ms. Tina Valdez is a global business leader with nearly 30 years of experience driving growth from startups to Fortune 100 companies. An expert in private capital, she has scaled technology companies, earning recognition from Gartner, Forrester, Stevie Awards, and Fortune. A top-ranked sales and operations leader in CRO, CIO, COO, and GM roles, she excels in team empowerment and strategic execution. Additionally, she is known for forging key go-to-market partnerships, earning CRN’s Women of the Channel honors (2020–2022). Ms. Valdez holds a bachelor’s degree in Ocean Engineering with a Minor in Language Studies from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business Executive Program.
Ms. Tina Valdez, COO
Ms. Tina Valdez is a global business leader with nearly 30 years of experience driving growth from startups to Fortune 100 companies. An expert in private capital, she has scaled technology companies, earning recognition from Gartner, Forrester, Stevie Awards, and Fortune. A top-ranked sales and operations leader in CRO, CIO, COO, and GM roles, she excels in team empowerment and strategic execution. Additionally, she is known for forging key go-to-market partnerships, earning CRN’s Women of the Channel honors (2020–2022). Ms. Valdez holds a bachelor’s degree in Ocean Engineering with a Minor in Language Studies from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business Executive Program.
Mr. Carl Wallace, CFO
Mr. Wallace specializes in technology commercialization, strategy, and product development for the Department of Defense and commercial industries. He has successfully brought CRADA and SBIR-backed technologies to market, benefiting soldiers, first responders, and civilians. Additionally, as a fractional CFO/COO, Mr. Wallace successfully implements financial systems for government and commercial firms. He has served as Chief Credit Officer for Millennium Bank in Reston, VA, and Chief Credit/Risk Officer for SONA Bank in Washington, DC. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Mr. Wallace holds a B.A. in Management, an MPS in Technology Management/Engineering, and is pursuing a doctorate in Technology.
