Next level of growth: Swami Iyer

In late 2023, Swami Iyer received a call from a recruiter, offering him the opportunity to lead Alaska Native Corporation (ANC).

Iyer, a retired United States Air Force test pilot and trained engineer, had just completed two years as President of Aerospace Systems at commercial spaceflight company Virgin Galactic.

He was intrigued by the opportunity.

The more he learned about ANCs and Cook Inlet Region, Inc (CIRI), the company where he would soon join as CEO, the more he came to see it as an exciting new chapter in his career.

"They needed someone to come in and accelerate the business. They had been sitting at around the billion-dollar level for the past 10 or 15 years, and they were trying to get the next level of growth out of it," he recalls.

In addition to seeking a worthy challenge, he was also intrigued by the ANC model, which dates back to 1971, with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act between the United States government and Alaska Native communities. Under the agreement, around a dozen regional and more than 200 village-level ANCs were set up to provide economic opportunities and self-sufficiency.

CIRI has environmental, engineering, construction, mission support and cyber investments. Headquartered in Anchorage, its businesses span the state of Alaska, as well as 45 other American states and multiple countries abroad.

"The majority of CIRI shareholders are Alaska Natives from various economic levels, and all the profits of the business go to their benefit, whether it be direct distributions or cultural programs or future growth of the company," Iyer says.

"I found it to be a very interesting opportunity because here I can lead a very large for-profit conglomerate whose mission is to do good."

New strategy

When Iyer arrived at CIRI, he found a business built largely on passive income from private equity, oil and gas royalties and real estate. That income was placed into funds where their returns were far lower than their full potential.

"So I went in, I sat down with a team, I brought in a few experts, and we rewrote the entire strategy for the company for the next 10 or 15 years," he says.

The new strategy moved away from long-term capital asset growth and toward investments that would generate more income for the shareholders.

"I had to teach the basic tenet, which is that revenue is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is king," he says. "Once we did that, we were able to rebuild the entire operational portfolio to find ways to increase our earnings."

In his first year as CEO, Iyer led the acquisition of several companies that are cash-rich, have strong growth and are highly differentiated. He also oversaw divestitures of companies that do not align with CIRI’s new strategy.

"In 2024, strategic acquisitions and divestitures helped to effectively double CIRI's profits in just one year," he says.

Local values

The main challenge Iyer faces is balancing the interests of CIRI’s current shareholders with those of the many more shareholders the company will have in the future as shares are passed from one generation to the next.

"We have more than 9,500 shareholders today, but their descendants will become shareholders one day, and their shares will be more diluted," he explains.

"We have to invest in their future by making sure the company lasts another 50 years, and we also have to produce enough cash today to make sure our current shareholders can support their families."

He compares the challenge to a quote from the film Dune: "Our plans are measured in centuries."

"This company actually does that," Iyer says.

Another aspect of his long-term vision for CIRI is ensuring that the company’s activities align with the values of its Alaska Native shareholders.

"The company has significant land assets, which we will never let go because the land is precious and sacred to our people," Iyer says.

"Underneath the land are about one million acres [405,000 hectares] of subsurface mineral rights, which we can then find a way to develop in a way that’s environmentally and socially conscious.

"It takes thoughtfulness to make sure we do what’s right within the conscience of our shareholders."

Iyer is also eyeing investments that are more in line with his own expertise in aerospace and defense, whose margins are higher than CIRI’s traditional activities. But his goal is not to reshape the company in his own image, but in that of the communities CIRI was founded to serve.

"My job is to develop the next generation of shareholders to lead the company," he concludes.