The San Diego Business Journal has named Fuse CEO, Sumner Lee, a 2026 CEO of the Year finalist. Each year, SDBJ honors San Diego’s most influential chief executives whose leadership, vision, and decision-making have driven organizational success and regional economic growth. Finalists are singled out for their strategic impact, commitment to innovation, and ability to lead with integrity through change.
“It’s an honor to be recognized alongside so many exceptional leaders who make San Diego’s business community one of the most innovative and mission-driven in the country,” said Lee. “As we look ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for Fuse as we accelerate growth to meet the urgent need for real-time defense data sharing across air, land, and sea environments.”
A former naval aviator, Lee founded Fuse with a vision to deliver critically needed capabilities to the warfighter through the application of Design Thinking processes. The rapidly growing non-traditional engineering firm is relentlessly focused on delivering innovative communications and networking solutions that provide U.S. and allied forces with essential real-time connectivity in the battlespace. Over the past year, the company has expanded its production footprint while advancing multiple tactical networking solutions toward field deployment.
“Sumner has assembled a team of former military operators, network experts, and bold engineers who thrive on solving real operational challenges,” said Scott Rosebush, Fuse President. “His leadership rewards the team for taking smart risks, iterating quickly, and creating intuitive designs that directly support mission success.”
The full list of 2026 CEO of the Year Finalists is available online, with award winners to be announced April 29 at the CEO of the Year Reception 2026.
About Fuse Integration
Fuse Integration is a warfighter-focused, non-traditional engineering firm that designs, prototypes and rapidly fields tactical edge networking solutions for defense customers in the United States and allied nations. The company’s airborne and maritime gateway systems and virtualized network architectures are operational today, enabling real-time data sharing across air, land and sea environments. Founded in 2010, Fuse is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business headquartered in San Diego with a corporate office in Washington, D.C. www.fuseintegration.com
