Stephen Kovac, chief compliance officer and head of global government affairs at Zscaler, has won WashingtonExec’s 2023 Chief Officer Award for Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer (Public).
WashingtonExec on May 10 unveiled the winners of the Chief Officer Awards, an annual program that celebrates influential and innovative executives in government and industry in the C-suite. The event took place at McLean’s luxurious Ritz Carlton, where 535 attendees came together for a memorable in-person luncheon.
Along with the government and industry winners, Sudhakar Kesavan, chairman of the board of directors at ABM Industries, Inc. and board member of Cadmus Group and Dexis Consulting Group, was honored with the 2023 Chief Officer Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes the career of a longtime, influential and impactful CEO, as Kesavan served as ICF CEO for an impressive 21 years, making him a true industry stalwart. Maximus CEO Bruce Caswell served as the emcee for this year’s awards ceremony.
Kovac, who also won the award in 2022, noted in a previous finalist Q+A with WashingtonExec that much of his success has been because of the people around him.
“At Zscaler, we really look to foster cross-pollination of knowledge and experience between our teams,” he said. “With the ability to hire the right people, it is important to surround yourself with those who will help propel the joint mission and help the team succeed.”
