Top Chief Financial Officers to Watch in 2022

Chuck Hicks

CFO & Chief Operating Officer, NCI Information Systems Inc.

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the last two years have been a boon for NCI. The company won over $2 billion in new federal business, including the $807 million digital transformation initiative at the General Services Administration’s Office of Digital Infrastructure Technologies — the company’s largest contract in its 32-year history.

In 2021, NCI was awarded three additional contracts from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that focus on artificial intelligence worth $150 million. Last year, as both chief financial officer and chief operating officer, Chuck Hicks initiated a reorganizational effort across NCI to better support the new programs and better align to deliver AI solutions to government customers, which has streamlined operations and increased the company’s focus on delivering results to customers, especially AI.

Hicks said while NCI’s AI technologies are delivering impressive returns for federal clients, he’s equally excited about leading the company’s efforts to give back to its communities by revitalizing its “NCI Cares” initiative, and becoming the executive sponsor of NCI’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council to improve both the customer and employee experience. 

“Chuck is a unique and gifted leader on our team, a person who has the ability to blend strong financial and operational leadership with a real talent to see things at the macro and micro levels,” said Paul Dillahay, president and CEO. “At the same time, his ability to lead and connect with team members at all levels and motivate them to achieve operational and performance excellence is impressive. Those skills are helping to take our operations and customer experience to another level.”

Why Watch

In 2022, Hicks’ team is heavily focused on the delivery of advanced capabilities to NCI customers with the new release of the Empower AI Platform. Hicks and his teams continue to be laser-focused on achieving the company’s vision and strategy of transforming into a full-service technology firm serving federal clients.

Hicks strongly believes AI can and will enable significant support to civilian and defense agencies whose missions can be greatly improved through “hyperautomation” and other AI technologies.  

“We believe that AI — the single most transformative technology of our generation — must be the leading innovation in the defense of our nation,” he said. “AI is playing a critical role in advancing the transformation of modernization for our federal IT systems and operations and can strengthen our position around the world. With every implementation, we are honored to be part of a transformation that is helping the federal workforce become more efficient and productive for the American people.”