Chris Klaftenegger is the Chief Executive Officer of Onyx Industries, where he leads the development of advanced defense technologies, including modular aerial delivery systems, remote weapon systems, and unmanned platforms. His focus is on ensuring that U.S. and allied warfighters have an overmatched capability against adversaries.
Chris also serves as a Peer Ambassador with Vets Seeking Treatment Solutions (VSTS), where he helps fellow veterans navigate the path of recovery and growth through connection and shared experience. His dedication to healing and empowerment remains a guiding force across all areas of his work.
Before entering industry in 2017, Chris built a career in global rescue and security operations. He worked as a Rescue Specialist and Paramedic with CHI in Galliano, Louisiana, providing helicopter rescue and medical services for the offshore oil industry. He later joined Vighter Medical Group in Niger, supporting U.S. forces in Africa with rescue and recovery operations. From there, he served in Mobile Medic Security for the U.S. Department of State in the Central African Republic, providing lifesaving support to the Ambassador and Embassy staff.
Chris’s civilian work built on more than 16 years of military service in Special Operations. He began as a U.S. Navy Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman (SARC), embedded with Marine units and trained to deliver advanced medical care in austere and high-risk environments. He later transitioned to the U.S. Air Force as a Pararescueman (PJ), conducting personnel recovery, combat medicine, and special reconnaissance missions across multiple global deployments.
His passion for healing started much earlier. In 1996, Chris earned his EMT Basic certification, igniting a lifelong commitment to prehospital and point-of-injury care. From EMT to SARC, PJ, global rescue specialist, CEO, and peer mentor, his career reflects a single throughline: a devotion to saving lives, fostering healing, and strengthening the bonds of those who serve.