Growing up, Ahmed Ayad looked up to his father as his highest role model.
“He came from a humble background and worked really hard to make sure that my sisters and I had the best education possible,” says Ayad, ManTech vice president of business development, defense sector. Out of that mix of siblings came two doctors and three engineers ⏤ including Ayad.
Holding two master’s degrees ⏤ one in international economics and another in engineering ⏤ Ayad has spent two decades in various roles serving the public sector and helping grow different businesses. In his current role, he leads a team in supporting a range of U.S. national security missions, including force protection, system modernization and information systems development and operations.
Asked what drives his growth, capture and win strategy, Ayad said it’s his team’s “unwavering determination” to support its customers.
“We align our growth and investment strategies with our customer goals to create the critical value needed bringing digital to the mission,” he says.
As he and his team members look ahead in 2023, Ayad said he’s extremely proud of their work ⏤ including capturing more than $1.5 billion worth of business just in the last few months of 2022. Those wins include securing the Allied Logistics Engineering Capabilities & Sustainment contract for maintaining Army vehicles.
Ayad has been with ManTech since October 2019 and has nearly 20 years of experience across the government services industry in roles such as capture and win strategy lead, customer engagement, competitive intelligence, pricing and solutions development.
He describes leadership as an active and engaged attribute.
“In our growth space, we have to be proactive and be able to adjust the approach as necessary,” he says. “I am a big proponent of transformational leadership: open communication with the team and clearly articulating goals and strategy.”