Robert J. Santos

Co-founder MetroStar

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Robert J. Santos is a co-founder of MetroStar, a Reston, Virginia company that provides digital transformation and AI-enabled solutions to US federal agencies, particularly in national security and defence. He and Ali Reza Manouchehri, friends from George Mason University, started the company in 1999 to help agencies prepare for Y2K. It grew organically into a business of more than 450 people, and Veritas Capital agreed to acquire it in November 2025. MetroStar’s own materials named Santos as President in 2023, and press coverage of the Veritas deal still described him that way. His current role is not stated on MetroStar’s leadership page.

Career Highlights

• Co-founded MetroStar in 1999 with Ali Reza Manouchehri, initially to help federal agencies prepare for Y2K.
• Served as President of MetroStar, named as such by the company in 2023 and in press coverage in November 2025.
• Helped grow MetroStar without acquisitions to more than 450 employees across more than 30 states, supporting more than 30 customers, by its 24th anniversary in 2023.

Professional Journey

Santos and Manouchehri met in college at George Mason University and became friends. According to MetroStar, the company began with the two of them putting ideas together in a dorm room there. They founded it in 1999 with Y2K readiness work for federal agencies, then moved into the services industry. The company says the founders’ friendship is the basis of its people-focused culture.

MetroStar grew into a digital services and solutions company for federal agencies around the Capital Beltway. It later made artificial intelligence its central goal, with wins that included AI work for the Air Force. For the company’s 24th anniversary in May 2023, MetroStar described Santos as President and co-founder alongside Manouchehri as CEO. It reported more than 450 employees in more than 30 states, all reached through organic growth. Santos summed up the founders’ approach: “You have to take care of your people because if you take care of the people, the people will take care of the customer. If the customer is happy, then MetroStar grows.” He and Manouchehri described reviewing their investments each year and trying to see where the company was heading six months ahead.

In November 2025, Veritas Capital announced an agreement to acquire MetroStar Systems. Washington Technology’s report on the deal again named Santos as President and co-founder. In August 2026 Veritas announced a further agreement to merge Steampunk into MetroStar, with Manouchehri named as chief executive of the combined company.

Education

He attended George Mason University, where he met his co-founder. No degree record was found in the sources consulted.