About Surnia Advisory
Surnia Advisory is the independent practice of James D. “Trey” Treadwell III. He advises executives, boards, and investors on the choices that connect commercial technology, national security needs, and durable growth.
Experience on both sides of the table.
Trey’s industry experience includes senior program management at General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems and acquisition and business operations consulting at PwC. That work put strategy alongside proposals, program operations, transition, and service delivery—the practical demands of serving government customers from within a commercial business.
His government career includes service as Intelligence Community Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Director of National Intelligence, and as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Associate Director for Capabilities and Component Acquisition Executive. Earlier work in Air Force acquisition and space operations, together with roles in national intelligence resource management, shaped a perspective that spans mission, technology, funding, and execution.
For clients, that experience supports a wider view: how an opportunity fits across the enterprise, what a customer must be able to acquire and adopt, and which resource and organizational choices will determine whether a strategy can be delivered.
Ask for what will make the difference.
“We don’t get what we want; we get what we ask for.”
This principle has guided Trey’s work with acquisition teams. Start with the intended outcome, understand what will change it, and translate that understanding into clear requirements and decisions. Surnia brings the same discipline to advisory work: define what matters before committing resources to the path ahead.
Perspective. Judgment. Partnership.
Consequential decisions benefit from a trusted outside perspective. Surnia brings a broader view of the mission, the market, and what it takes to turn ambition into practical progress.
You work directly with Trey—a sounding board for difficult choices and a continuing partner as priorities evolve. The relationship takes shape around the decisions that matter to your business.
Candid advice, independent judgment, and discretion underpin the work.
Why Surnia
A wider view. A steady bearing.
From a high perch, the landscape opens. What seemed separate begins to connect. Patterns take shape across distances, and an opening concealed at ground level comes into view.
The Northern Hawk Owl, whose genus gives Surnia its name, offers an image of that perspective: watchful, listening, attentive to small movements within a larger world. For Surnia, wisdom begins here—with the patience to understand the terrain and the judgment to recognize what matters.
The feathers in our mark give that perspective motion. They evoke quiet flight, discretion, and precision: preparation that draws little attention, followed by purposeful action when the moment arrives. Their rising arc expresses how an advisory relationship can build value over time, as understanding deepens and insight becomes an enduring advantage.
At the center, the compass rose holds a steady bearing. A familiar motif in the intelligence tradition, it represents Surnia’s commitment to truth and independent judgment—to follow the evidence, question comfortable assumptions, and offer candid direction.
Together, the name and mark express an ambition for our clients: to see opportunities earlier, approach consequential decisions with confidence, and shape the conditions in which they can thrive.