The finalists for WashingtonExec’s 2021 Pinnacle Awards have been announced — and it’s an impressive group of mission-focused industry executives and government officials who work every day to put the technological needs of the nation first.
In its fourth year, the Pinnacle Awards will take place virtually Dec. 8. The program embodies the WashingtonExec spirit of highlighting successful executives and businesses saving money and fostering innovation for federal clients across the region.
Below is the full list of categories and finalists. The winners will be announced and recognized during the Dec. 8 awards luncheon. Bloomberg Government will be the presenting sponsor.
Artificial Intelligence Industry Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Ashley Mehta, Nolij Consulting LLC
- Thiag Loganathan, Cardinality.ai
- Edward Burrows, Brillient Corp.
- Willie Hicks, Dynatrace Federal
- Barry Smallwood, Akima
Artificial Intelligence Industry Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Dr. Ian McCulloh, Accenture Federal Services
- Dr. Michael Sean O’Brien, Northrop Grumman
- Michael Scruggs, SAIC
- Marshall Thames, ECS
- Lloyd Greenwald, CACI International
- Steve Escaravage, Booz Allen Hamilton
Business Development Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Jeff Kerridge, Amentum
- Bridget Medeiros, NCI Information Systems, Inc.
- Mohamed Elansary, Buchanan & Edwards
- Pete Pflugrath, LMI
- Dave Hearding, Systems Planning and Analysis
Business Development Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Richard Crowe, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Ray McDuffie, Dell Technologies
- Steve Rubley, Thomson Reuters
- Rick Rosenburg, Rackspace Technology
- Robert Miller, Parsons Corp.
Cloud Government Executive of the Year
- Richard Husk, Enterprise Intelligence & Data Solutions PMO/Naval Information Warfare Center
- Tammy Whitcomb, Inspector General of the U.S. Postal Service
- Subramanian Muniasamy, Maryland Department of Human Services
- Hamaad Syed, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency
- Robert Cole, U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services
Cloud Industry Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Jackie Ackerman, Cognosante
- Vinay Manne, Dovel Technologies
- Seth Moore, T-Rex Solutions, LLC
- Vishwas Lele, AIS (Applied Information Sciences)
- John Sankovich, Smartronix
- Dan Naselius, CORAS and Plasticity
Cloud Industry Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Bob Ritchie, SAIC
- Ravi Raghava, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Dave Levy, Amazon Web Services
- Tom Keane, Microsoft
- Sandeep Shilawat, ManTech
- Dan Tucker, Booz Allen Hamilton
Contracts Government Executive of the Year
- Monica Padron, U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services
- Paul Coutney, Department of Homeland Security
- Jill Wood, Director of National Intelligence
- Mike Derrios, Department of State
Contracts Industry Executive of the Year
- Howard Porter, CACI International
- Jeff Coe, Attain Partners
- Melissa Cossentino, Leidos
- Jai Spivey, Parsons Corp.
- Patricia Bahr, Hexagon U.S. Federal
Cybersecurity Government Executive of the Year
- Nickolous Ward, Department of Justice
- Shawn Brody, Enterprise Intelligence & Data Solutions PMO/Naval Information Warfare Center
- Chris DeRusha, Office of Management and Budget
Cybersecurity Industry Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Douglas Neff, Cognosante
- Amanda Kane, Guidehouse
- John Hammes, Intelligent Waves LLC
- Marlin McFate, Riverbed Technology
- Kevin Youngquist, Veritas Technologies LLC
- Tony D’Angelo, Lookout
Cybersecurity Industry Executive of the Year, Public Company
- John Mandell, Maximus
- Kevin Coggins, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Aaron Faulkner, Accenture Federal Services
- Dan Voce, Leidos
- Kevin McNeill, CACI International Inc.
- Jonathan Sholtis, ICF
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Government Executive of the Year
- Sonya Johnson, UCOR
- Anselm Beach, Headquarters, Department of the Army
- Nicole Nelson-Jean, Department of Energy
- Paul Huang, Department of Homeland Security, FEMA
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Industry Executive of the Year
- Bridget Chatman, SAIC
- Dr. Arvenita Washington Cherry, Maximus
- Dr. Kimberly Myers, Deloitte
- Jon Moore, Salesforce
- Leslie Harlien, Dell Technologies
- Shelli Green, Vectrus
- Marie Sylla-Dixon, Raytheon Technologies
- Tashi Carper, Leidos
DOD Government Executive of the Year
- Raj Iyer, Department of the Army
- Holly S. Joers, Department of Defense, Defense Healthcare Management Systems
- Dr. Will Roper, U.S. Air Force
DOD Industry Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Michael Nelson, Riverside Research
- Earl G. Matthews, Veeam Government Solutions
- William Vantine, Systems Planning and Analysis
- Jason Nichols, ASRC Federal
DOD Industry Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Jim Kelly, Dell Technologies
- Leigh Palmer, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Paul Decker, Parsons Corp.
Private Company Executive Assistant of the Year
- Dawn Holbrook, Amentum
- Leslie Suddueth, Constellis
- Lauren Baker, McKinsey & Co.
Public Company Executive Assistant of the Year
- Ruth-Ann Adam, CGI Federal
- Susie Ponzoo-Lasri, Parsons Corp.
- Melissa Unverferth, Hexagon US Federal
Government TEAM Program/Project of the Year
- Community Care Referral and Authorization Program
- Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence Solutions Project – Joint Service Provider
- COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting Project
- Redstone Facilities Unit
- COVID-19 Communication & Vaccination Response Project
- Moonshot Labs
- CIO Council Interagency Collaboration Tool
- Saltstone Disposal Unit 7 Project
Healthcare Government Executive of the Year
- Chris Martin, CMS
- William Tinston, Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization Program
- Dr. Clinton Greenstone, Office of Community Care, Veterans Health Administration
- Dr. Thomas Osborne, Department of Veterans Affairs
Healthcare Industry Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Jerry Hogge, The MITRE Corp.
- Antonina Shtilkind, Brillient Corp.
- Alicia Harkness, Guidehouse
Healthcare Industry Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Brian Sandager, Cerner Government Services
- Jennifer Welham, ICF
- Liz Porter, Leidos
- Kamal Narang, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Phoebe Yang, Amazon Web Services
- Lisa Slaughter, Maximus
HR Executive of the Year
- Jennifer Bailey, Cognosante
- Ray Khuo, BlueHalo
- Priscilla Lott-Price, Leidos
Intelligence Government Executive of the Year
- Phil Chudoba, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
- Juliane Gallina, CIA
- Christine Abizaid, National Counterterrorism Center
Intelligence Industry Executive of the Year
- Tara Davey, Buchanan & Edwards
- George Zoulias, Perfecta
- Tiffanny Gates, Accenture Federal Services
- Chris Bellios, Hexagon US Federal
Marketing Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Christine Fuentes, Amentum
- Jessica Lindberg, Dovel Technologies
- Lisa D’Aromando, Constellis
Marketing Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Brian Chidester, OpenText
- Andre Kearns, Amazon Web Services
- Matt Maurer, ICF
- Jennifer Fleisher, Splunk
- Oliver Nutt, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Milo Speranzo, Dell Technologies
National Security / DHS Executive of the Year
- M. John Saad, Guidehouse
- Dylan Conner, ID Technologies
- Jim Moos, Leidos
Space Industry Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Clint Crosier, Amazon Web Services
- Derick Trask, Hexagon US Federal
- Rich Aves, Parsons Federal Solutions
Space Government Executive of the Year
- Ron Thompson, NASA
- Shawn J. Barnes, U.S. Air Force
- Andrew D. Cox, Headquarters Air Force Space Command
Supply Chain Executive of the Year
- Michael Beck, Leidos
- Michael Croll, Sonatype
- Nisa Moore, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Tim Nicklas, SUSE Rancher Government Solutions