The government contracting industry witnessed a number of strategic executive movements in 2022, including appointments and promotions to C-level roles as well as leadership changes meant to spur growth in public sector-focused practices. As the year draws to a close, Executive Mosaic‘s editorial team is sharing people moves that dominated the headlines in the last 12 months.
Continue reading below for our rundown of stories highlighting leaders who will help shape the strategic vision of GovCon’s largest players.
Management consulting services company Redhorse announced John Zangardi’s promotion to the CEO position Jan. 5 as part of a growth-focused reorganization move backed by an investment from Blue Delta Capital Partners. Zangardi, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, served in the federal government and the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years before he joined the private sector.
(Watch Executive Mosaic’s video interview with John Zangardi)
“As I considered a career in industry, I still wanted to support missions and get some dirt under my fingernails. More importantly, I wanted to lead and be part of the solution solving complex national security and federal government problems. Supporting the mission is still an important factor for me. Mission is just hard to get out of your blood,” Zangardi told ExecutiveBiz.
QinetiQ Group welcomed Shawn Purvis in mid-February to lead the British contractor’s U.S. arm, where she brings more than 25 years of defense and intelligence market experience. Purvis, a two-time recipient of the Wash100 Award, became president and CEO of QinetiQ US after four years as head of Northrop Grumman‘s enterprise services group.
(Watch Executive Mosaic’s video interview with Shawn Purvis)
“We will look for acquisitions that we think are a good fit both strategically and culturally for our company. Our strategy to become a disruptive mid-tier company will drive our M&A activity and result in a high-performing multibillion-dollar company over the next five years,” Purvis told ExecutiveBiz.
BT Group named Mike Barthlow as president and CEO of the global communications company’s U.S. government-focused subsidiary in January. He is responsible for developing and implementing the growth strategy at BT Federal.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to be able answer the question: ‘How does BT Federal deploy and protect its and it’s customer networks globally?’ We must take that blueprint that BT is performing globally and make it available to our federal customers,” Barthlow told GovCon Wire.
A 25-year Verizon veteran, Maggie Hallbach received a promotion to be senior vice president of the telecommunication firm’s public sector business in February.
“Our team is focused on how we can best serve and support the missions of our federal, state, local, education and Verizon Frontline public safety customers, many of whom have proven to be the pace-setters for 5G adoption and implementation,” Hallbach told ExecutiveBiz.
On March 28, six-time Wash100 awardee John Heller started his role as CEO of Amentum. His appointment came a little over a month after the Germantown, Maryland-based government services contractor completed its acquisition of PAE, which Heller led as chief executive from December 2013 to March 2021.
“As an industry, we must play a key role as the interface that pushes advancement. Collaboration is the means; we can combine federal sector and private sector efforts to scale up and speed up the energy transition — drive advancements and turn prototypes into large-scale solutions,” Heller wrote in a Dec. 8 opinion piece for Defense News.
Parsons President and CEO Carey Smith, a four-time Wash100 Award winner, assumed an additional role as chairwoman of the Centreville, Virginia-based technology company April 14.
“We are creating the future of national security and critical infrastructure by leveraging advanced technologies across these domains. I’m proud to lead and support my colleagues in that mission,” Smith said in a Jan. 24 press release on her chair appointment.
Dave Wajsgras, a two-decade industry veteran and six-time Wash100 awardee, became Intelsat‘s CEO in April. He is more prominently known in the GovCon space as the former president of the intelligence, information and services unit at the legacy Raytheon company.
“While the company has made history over nearly 60 years, it’s Intelsat’s future that excites me most. With a focus on customers and a commitment to delivering on our promises, we’re ready to write the next chapter in the story of communications and connectivity,” Wajsgras said in March.
Boeing appointed 13-year company veteran Ted Colbert as president and CEO of the company’s defense, space and security unit in April. The former Boeing Global Services head succeeded Leanne Caret, who retired from the aerospace and defense contractor after a nearly 35-year career. Colbert is a recipient of BEYA’s Black Engineer of the Year award for 2022.
RAZA LATIF, NuAxis Innovations
NuAxis Innovations elevated Raza Latif, who has held the president title since 2017, to CEO of the Tysons, Virginia-based federal information technology services provider in May.
“I know from personal experience that our federal government plays a critical part in changing lives for the better,” Latif said in a press release on his promotion. “Today we can be even more impactful by focusing on experiences and not just transactions. We are excited to be a part of this movement.”
A nearly three-decade GovCon veteran, Tina Dolph returned to CRDF Global in May after over three years as president and CEO at Siemens Government Technologies.
(Watch Executive Mosaic’s video interview with Tina Dolph)
“Their efforts to improve the security and safety for our nation and its allies around the globe are essential, and I’m eager to contribute in any way I can,” Dolph, a four-time Wash100 Award recipient, said of CRDF’s mission as a nonprofit organization.
TIM SPADAFORE and RONALD “FOG” HAHN, Client Solution Architects
In July, Client Solution Architects appointed Tim Spadafore as chief operating officer and named Ronald “Fog” Hahn as chief growth officer.
Spadafore has more than 26 years of federal contracting experience and joined CSA from his prior role as senior vice president of CGI Federal’s defense, intelligence and space business.
“As I look at the organization from the inside out, what have we accomplished, and where do I think we can go? We have a very strong reputation with our customers. We’ve built a lot of trust with our customers and I want to be able to help them move into the next phase of their systems evolutions, be it enterprise IT, training or cyber,” Spadafore said in an interview with GovCon Wire.
Hahn, a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, formerly served as executive VP of Amentum’s strategic growth organization.
“I’m looking at what we’re going to go after and match it up against our strategy. What’s our vision? Is this going to advance us in that direction? And if it’s not, then there really has to be some kind of justification as to why we’re bidding this,” Hahn told GovCon Wire.
Hilary Hageman rejoined Science Applications International Corp. in July to serve as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Hageman previously worked at SAIC from 2016 to 2019, when she was appointed to similar posts at Cubic Corp. She earned her master’s degree in law from Georgetown University and juris doctorate from Emory University.
JOE NIEHAUS and ZAKI SALEH, LMI
In August, LMI promoted 23-year industry veteran Joe Niehaus to senior vice president of the nonprofit consulting firm’s logistics service line and appointed Zaki Saleh, a former Peraton executive, as SVP of its health and civilian market.
Niehaus joined LMI in 2021 as director of supply chain management after more than 14 years at SAIC, while Saleh previously managed Peraton’s global health business unit.
DARRON MAKROKANIS and MATTHEW HEIDEMAN, Xage
Security company Xage announced in late August the addition of Darron Makrokanis and Matthew Heideman to its executive leadership team as chief revenue officer and vice president of federal business, respectively. The two tech industry veterans joined Xage from D2iQ, a San Francisco-based enterprise Kubernetes software provider.
Tom Watson took the helm of Serco Inc., the British defense contractor’s Americas division, when Dave Dacquino stepped down as chief executive in September.
“We’re always looking to improve, to be better, to innovate – we pride ourselves on that at Serco. And as I think about the future, about my role – it isn’t about change for change’s sake, this is about building on a solid foundation,” Watson told GovCon Wire.
ERIC TREXLER, Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks hired Eric Trexler as senior vice president of the company’s U.S. public sector business in September. Prior to the appointment, Trexler was VP of sales for the global governments and critical infrastructure business at Forcepoint for more than four years. (Read his interview with ExecutiveBiz)
A 22-year Noblis veteran, Mile Corrigan took the reins as president and CEO of the nonprofit science and technology organization in October.
(Watch Executive Mosaic’s video interview with Mile Corrigan)
“I’ve got a heavy agenda for the foreseeable future with many things to accomplish and encapsulate in terms of growth. At the highest level, I want everything we do to focus on continuous evolution and growth,” Corrigan told GovCon Wire.
Matt Tait became president and CEO at ManTech in October after global investment firm Carlyle completed its acquisition of the Herndon, Virginia-based government services contractor. The U.S. Navy veteran also serves on ManTech’s board of directors.
“Since joining ManTech in 2018, I have worked alongside some of the best and most innovative talent in the industry and I am excited to be at the forefront of what comes next for our team,” Tait said in a news release.
JOHN USTICA, Siemens Government Technologies
John Ustica, a more-than-two-decade veteran of Siemens, assumed the president and CEO roles at the industrial conglomerate’s federal arm, Siemens Government Technologies, in October.
“I’m a firm believer in the fact that when we act as partners, we can solve problems much better. If you look at the high-level leadership in the armed forces and in other parts of government, they’re publicly saying, We, as the government, know what we want, but we need industry to figure it out,” Ustica told GovCon Wire.
AT&T appointed Zee Hussain as president of the company’s public sector organization, in a series of segment leadership appointments in October. The two-decade AT&T veteran leads a 4,000-employee organization that brings communications and technology offerings to the federal, state and local government, education, public safety and health care sectors.
David Joslin joined CGI Federal as a senior vice president in October and leads the Fairfax, Virginia-based IT contractor’s business sector focused on the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Health Agency.
Illuminate promoted Gregg Melanson to chief growth officer of U.S. operations in early December. Prior to his promotion, Melanson was an executive vice president and general manager at the Herndon, Virginia-based security and analytics company.
“Agencies are identifying their concern and saying they need help here or there. Having the government take a data centric view is a critical step in solving the big data challenges they have. I think it’s the first step in solving that big challenge. Illuminate has innovation, we just need to get it in front of the right people and show them the capabilities that exist,” Melanson told ExecutiveBiz.
