Navy and Air Force vets now shape engineering and growth of company’s product portfolio
Fuse today announced that the San Diego Business Journal has honored two company leaders as 2025 Veteran Leaders of Influence. Jon Klaus, Director of Business Development, and Allen McAfee, Director of Engineering and Technology, and are among this year’s honorees. The annual SDBJ honor celebrates 50 influential veteran leaders who live and work in San Diego County for their contributions and commitment.
“Our teams are built by leaders who have lived the mission. Jon and Allen carry their decades of service into every decision they make at Fuse, always putting the warfighter first,” said Sumner Lee, CEO of Fuse. “This recognition reflects the strength of their character and the impact they continue to make for those on the front lines.”
Jon “Santa” Klaus served in a wide range of operational and leadership roles during his 30-year Air Force career, from instructor pilot and flight commander in the KC-135Q and evaluator pilot in the C-141 to operations officer for the C-21 and commander of a KC-135R squadron. He later served as the U.S. senior defense official and defense attaché to Sweden, advancing U.S.–Sweden defense cooperation and shared security objectives. Klaus was also assigned as a National Defense Fellow with the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress and as executive officer to the Air Force Chief Information Officer. Before joining Fuse, he was Vice President and Senior Director for Business Development at Saab Inc., where he developed, marketed, and sold air-related products across the U.S. defense services. Today, Klaus leads the development, implementation, and execution of growth strategies across the portfolio.
Allen “Kanye” McAfee’s time in uniform included more than six years as a Navy Corpsman with combat experience serving with 1st MARDIV in Iraq. After transitioning from military service, he built a strong record of success in new product development and introduction across both government and consumer markets, earning recognition such as the CES Best of Innovation Award and the Good Design® Award. He is an MBA candidate at the University of California San Diego, a member of the Forbes Technology Council, and an occasional mentor for the Tech Stars community. Today, McAfee leads the engineering development of product lines, overseeing engineering operations and capability demonstrations while ensuring all development efforts align with customer strategic goals. He champions warfighters’ needs through user-centric design and expertly balances the Fuse development cadence with evolving customer requirements.
For the full list of this year’s honorees, view the SDBJ 2025 Leaders of Influence profiles online.
About Fuse Integration
Fuse is a warfighter-focused engineering and design firm providing innovative communications, networking and computing solutions for defense customers. The company’s virtualized network systems, tactical edge network and airborne networking gateway products improve the sharing of information, video, text and voice among warfighters throughout airborne, maritime and ground environments. Founded in 2010, Fuse is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business with headquarters in San Diego and a corporate office in Washington, D.C. www.fuseintegration.com
