Michelle D. Hertz
Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, CGI Federal Inc.
Michelle Hertz has over 30 years of diverse experience in the federal GovCon arena in government, private practice and private industry and is an active member of the federal GovCon community. She advises CGI Federal on all legal matters concerning its operations and also counsels the company’s board of directors on issues arising from government relations, corporate governance, corporate transactions and industrial security. Additionally, she serves as CGI Federal’s ethics officer, overseeing the company’s Ethics and Trade Compliance Programs.
In the past three years, Hertz has overseen three major acquisitions that support the company’s “Build and Buy” strategy. She and her team closed both the TeraThink and ARRAY transactions amid the pandemic, and she credits technology as a key enabler to the success of these transactions. Despite working remotely, her team seamlessly collaborated with its internal business and functional colleagues to meet with external stakeholders, conduct due diligence, obtain regulatory approvals and execute the transactions, thanks to secure technologies at their disposal.
“The pandemic has presented the business world with an unprecedented opportunity to evolve the way it works,” Hertz said. “Rather than letting the pandemic make us feel disconnected, technology has enabled our team to feel even more connected. As health and safety conditions permitted, we’ve evolved our team dynamics to suit a hybrid work environment and adapted our client interaction approach away from a one-size-fits-all model to a more individualized model that meets our clients wherever they are by harnessing technology.”
Why Watch
On the heels of CGI Federal’s restructure last year, Hertz is turning her attention inward now, maturing and growing her team to better support the realigned business structure. She remains focused on creating meaningful work experiences that provide staff with the opportunity to evolve and develop their careers at CGI Federal through diverse mentorship, clients and work portfolios.
“Over the last 12 years, Michelle has elevated the CGI Federal legal, compliance and contract capabilities and worked alongside the operational leaders as a trusted business partner,” said Stephanie Mango, CGI Federal president. “She and her talented team of highly skilled legal professionals play an integral part of our continued profitable growth. Michelle’s legal acumen, along with her humor and creativity make her a valuable asset to our team.”