Top 10 Execs To Watch in National Security for the National Capital Region

Al Whitmore, BAE Systems

Al Whitmore is president of intelligence and security at BAE Systems, where he works toward a mission of expanding the company’s footprint in the professional services market in the wake of an increasing national defense budget. Before joining BAE, Whitmore spent 30 years at General Dynamics Information Technology, rising to senior vice president of the Global Solutions Division.

Why watch: As a high level leader at BAE, Whitmore is involved in the firm’s steady work to procure new tools and systems that align with customer needs and missions — and help government agencies transition to modern processes and systems.

“There is high demand for innovative new solutions in cloud services, cybersecurity, nuclear modernization, command, control and communications, and intelligence automation — and we have the proven track-record, mission understanding and strategic partnerships in place to deliver the best technologies to address these challenges,” Whitmore said.

“In addition, we have put an emphasis on forging new strategic partnerships to bring the commercial-grade solutions our customers want into the defense space. This took a shift in thinking internally, as we realized our customers no longer want specialized, stove-piped proprietary systems built from the ground up with one purpose in mind. Instead, they want agile solutions that can be changed and customized instantly to address emerging challenges, and scaled to handle future needs.”

Whitmore leads BAE’s work on several fronts, including a business that provides the Air Force and Combatant Commands with solutions to help modernize, maintain, test and cyber-harden aircraft, radar, missile systems and missions applications related to national security. He also heads BAE’s work with the Army, Navy and federal civilian customers to provide systems engineering, integration and sustainment services for C4ISR systems and enterprise IT networks.

“Virtually everything BAE Systems touches — be it a vehicle, ship, aircraft, sensor, or IT system — is somehow connected,” Whitmore said. “That is why we are pioneering the next generation of cybersecurity solutions utilizing blockchain and artificial intelligence to make these vehicles and technologies safer, smarter and more resilient to cyberattack.”