About
A defence market-access firm, built for credibility
We exist for one reason: to help credible technical suppliers build real routes into the defence supply chain, with the discipline the sector demands.
The thesis
A managed route to market
Plenty of capable suppliers could serve defence but never build a credible route in. The problem is rarely capability. It is that the routes are fragmented, the buyers are hard to reach, and the work of building a defence pipeline sits awkwardly between sales, marketing and strategy.
Defence Access was built to be that missing function: a managed route to market that combines positioning, mapping, outreach and opportunity intelligence into one disciplined operation, rather than one-off outreach in isolation.
The timing matters. The Ministry of Defence has committed to increasing its total spend with SMEs to £7.5bn by May 2028. The suppliers who build a structured route now are the ones who will benefit as the market opens.
Defence Access turns defence ambition into structured commercial market access: target-account mapping, decision-maker research, sector-specific messaging, qualified outreach and event-led pipeline development, introducing specialist partners where readiness, procurement or certification expertise is required.
Founding Partner
Dane Cross
Founding Partner
Dane Cross is the Founding Partner of Defence Access. His background is commercial and go-to-market: building structured outbound and pipeline systems for technical companies across engineering, cyber, IT services and enterprise technology.
Defence Access is a specialist market-access initiative operated by Lead Conneqt Limited, applying its established B2B account-mapping, stakeholder research and human outreach capability to defence and other regulated markets. We describe that as commercial and go-to-market experience, not defence-delivery experience or endorsement.
The discipline carries across: define the target accounts, reach the right people, qualify rigorously and manage a pipeline a leadership team can read.
Defence Access applies that same discipline to a sector where credibility, compliance and patience matter more than volume.
The operating model
A real delivery function
This is not a one-person operation. Engagements draw on a small core team and trusted specialist partners, brought in where their expertise is genuinely needed.
Founding Partner
Strategy, account direction and senior commercial relationships.
Research analyst
Account, stakeholder and opportunity research that feeds the pipeline.
Outreach execution
Compliant, multi-channel outreach and conversation generation.
Content and positioning
Capability statements and messaging that hold up with defence buyers.
Defence bid partner
A specialist partner brought in where formal bid-writing is required.
Legal and compliance advisor
Engaged on data protection, anti-bribery and security questions as needed.
Trusted commercial experience across enterprise technology, engineering and regulated markets.
- NVIDIA
- Toshiba
- Tanium
Shown as the team’s commercial background and experience. These organisations are not clients of Defence Access and do not endorse the firm.
Start the conversation
Request a Market Access Review
A focused 20-minute conversation about your current defence route, target accounts, proof assets, the barriers in your way and how urgent the commercial need is.