The finalists for WashingtonExec’s 2023 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 sixth year, the Pinnacle Awards will take place live, in-person Nov. 16 at The Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner, Virginia. 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 Nov. 16 awards luncheon.
Artificial Intelligence Executive of the Year, Public Company
- John Larson, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Michael Thieme, Accenture Federal Services
- Ryan Gabriele, Parsons
- Tifani O’Brien, Leidos
- Todd Schroeder, UiPath
Artificial Intelligence Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Eric Brown, ManTech
- Keith Rodgers, LMI
- Michael Pansky, IntelliBridge
- Nathan Devine, Empower AI
- Richard Jacik, Brillient Corp.
Business Development Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Alex Lopez, ECS
- Brian Hobbs, Accenture Federal Services
- Mike House, Siemens Government Technologies
- Mike Pullen, CGI Federal
- Nathan Magestad, Parsons
Business Development Executive of the Year, Private Company
Annual Revenue Greater Than $250M
- Chris Holden, J&J Worldwide Services
- James Yates, CAES
- Mark Adams, Peraton
- Mike DeMarco, Intelsat
- Sean Mullen, Amentum
Business Development Executive of the Year, Private Company
Annual Revenue Less Than $250M
- Ashley Nichols, Highlight Technologies
- Christina Seiden, Excella
- Jeffrey Mujsce, BryceTech
- Matt Candy, IntelliBridge
- Sima Shahin, Rancher Government Solutions
Climate Change Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Marian Van Pelt, ICF
- Prachi Sukhatankar, Booz Allen Hamilton
- Tristan Bannon, Leidos
Climate Change Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Britt Harter, Guidehouse
- Erwin Villiger, LMI
- Paul Chinowsky, Stanley Consultants
Cloud Executive of the Year, Private & Public Companies
- Brian Barnes, General Dynamics Mission Systems
- Brian Price, Kion
- Kristin Cochran, Siemens Government Technologies
- Max Peterson, Amazon Web Services
- Paul Farmer, CASE
- Ravi Raghava, SAIC
Government Cloud Executive of the Year
- Capt. Kevin Mullaney, USN, Ph.D., U.S. Naval Academy
- Christopher Carrigan, U.S. Marine Corps
- Sagar Samant, GSA
Contracts Executive of the Year, Private & Public Companies
- Dawn Tenia, DMI
- Doug Humerick, Magellan Federal
- Elaine Schlegel, Highlight Technologies
- John Roman, ECS
- Mandy Walter-Beam, Two Six Technologies
- Sarah Bednarz, Arlo Solutions
- Stephen Yuter, BrainGu
Government Contracts Executive of the Year
- Fatima Diallo, Army Contracting Command-APG
- Jetur Conway, U.S. Postal Service
- Mario Wilson, TSA
Cybersecurity Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Amanda Satterwhite, Accenture Federal Services
- Bill Geimer, ECS
- Dan Rolph, Parsons
- John DeSimone, Raytheon, an RTX Business
- John Sahlin, General Dynamics Information Technology
- John Nemoto, CGI Federal
- Shawn Kingsberry, SAIC
Government Cybersecurity Executive of the Year
- Bo Berlas, GSA
- Daniel Daly, TSA
- Donna S. Bennett, Department of State
- Jodi Kouts, Department of Energy
- Mary Wijetunga, JOMIS
- Shawn Brody, EIDS
Cybersecurity Executive of the Year, Private Company
Annual Revenue Greater Than $250M
- Alex Burkart, Koniag Government Services
- Scott Smith, Ernst & Young
- Sheryl Hanchar, CAES
Cybersecurity Executive of the Year, Private Company
Annual Revenue Less Than $250M
- Brandon Gulla, Rancher Government Solutions
- Jack Wilmer, Core4ce
- John Wood, Telos Corp.
- John Ayers, REDLattice
- Laks Prabhala, Alpha Omega
- Robert Carey, Cloudera Government Solutions
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Executive of the Year, Private & Public Companies
- Combiz Abdolrahimi, Deloitte
- Dawn-Marie Gray, Cadmus
- Ebony Jones, Accenture Federal Services
- Ellen Rice Chever, LMI
- Winter Washington, Gainwell Technologies
DoD Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Mary Pollard, CACI
- Portia Crowe, Accenture Federal Services
- Tamara Greenspan, Oracle
- Vincent DiFronzo, SAIC
DoD Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Dave Hathaway, ManTech
- John Spencer-Taylor, BrainGu
- Juvy McCarthy, Akima
- Lonnie Williams, DMI
- Ryan Abbott, MetroStar
- Shawna Li, Ernst & Young
- Steve Kelley, J&J Worldwide Services
Government DoD Executive of the Year
- Alvin Burse, U.S. Air Force
- Doug Bush, U.S. Army
- Eileen Vidrine, U.S. Air Force
- Holly Joers, DHMS
Executive Assistant of the Year, Private & Public Companies
- Ann Tiller, Leidos
- Brittany Masters, LMI
- Jaimie Francois, BryceTech
- Jen Dunn, Siemens Government Technologies
- Nancy Logan, Arcfield
- Natalie Robinson, Intelsat
Healthcare Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Benjamin Cushing, Red Hat
- Ilene Baylinson, Maximus
- Jill Olmstead, Accenture Federal Services
- Larry Schaefer, Leidos/QTC
- Mark Valcich, Intel
- Steven Sousa, CGI Federal
Healthcare Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Cara Klansek, Guidehouse
- Lia Melakou, Highlight Technologies
- Richard “Chip” Terry, ASRC Federal
Government Healthcare Executive of the Year
- Anne Bailey, Department of Veterans Affairs
- Karl Mathias, HHS
- Kathryn Wetherby, CMS
- Mohammed Chaudhry, FDA
- William Tinston, FEHRM
HR Executive of the Year, Private & Public Companies
Annual Revenue Greater Than $250M
- Angela Galyean, Intelsat
- Donna Diederich, LMI
- Jamila Taylor, Guidehouse
- Rebecca Hannahs, Siemens Government Technologies
HR Executive of the Year, Private Company
Annual Revenue Less Than $250M
- Debbie Peterson, MetroStar
- Denise Picarelli, Two Six Technologies
- Kate McEnaney, CyberCore Technologies
- Kerri Morehart, Cadmus
- Lynn McElhaney, Core4ce
- Mahreen Rashid, Excella
- Mary Watson, IntelliBridge
“Humble Beginnings” Podcast Episode
- Ed Swallow, The Aerospace Corp.
- Kevin Kelly, Arcfield
- Michael Jung, ICF
- Rick Driggers, Accenture Federal Services
- Stephanie Mango, CGI Federal
Intelligence Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Donna Rhoads, Leidos
- Errol McEachron, CGI Federal
- Mike Kushin, Parsons
- Stephen Carlon, Accenture Federal Services
Intelligence Executive of the Year, Private Company
- Dan Smith, RenXTech, A Buchanan & Edwards Co.
- Tony Frazier, Maxar
- Tricia Fitzmaurice, Rancher Government Solutions
Marketing Executive of the Year, Public Company
- Alan Hill, Serco
- Lindsay Streeper, Magellan Federal
- Shab Nassirpour, ECS
Marketing Executive of the Year, Private Company
Annual Revenue Greater Than $250M
- Clay McConnell, Intelsat
- Colleen Campbell, Maxar
- Ethan Meurlin, Octo
- Robin Milton, LMI
Marketing Executive of the Year, Private Company
Annual Revenue Less Than $250M
- Alex Bender, Core4ce
- Don Poole, Rancher Government Solutions
- Ellen Bjork, Riverside Research
- Helle Huxley, Cadmus
- Tonia Patt, Two Six Technologies
- Victoria Kruemmer, Highlight Technologies
National Security/DHS Executive of the Year, Private & Public Companies
- Greg Adams, ECS
- Jonathan Pettus, Leidos/Dynetics Group
- Matt Zimmerman, MetroStar
- Scott Recinos, LMI
Pricing Executive of the Year, Private & Public Companies
- Eddie Morris, Excella
- Kyle Andrews, MetroStar
- Scott Widlake, Leidos
Space Executive of the Year, Private & Public
- David Ray, SAIC
- John “J.R.” Riordan, Sigmatech Inc
- Michael Fry, Sev1Tech
- Milton Carroll, Peraton
- Scott “Scooter” Altman, ASRC Federal
Supply Chain Executive of the Year, Private & Public Companies
- Alex McGuire, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Joe Niehaus, LMI
- John Polowczyk, Ernst & Young
- Neal Frick, CyberCore Technologies
- Richard “Rick” Lisa, Intel
Systems Security Officer, Private & Public Companies
- April Johnson, BrainGu
- Lemuel Higgins, Serco, Inc.
- Sarah Barnhart, CAES
Government TEAM Project of the Year
- HealthCare.Gov website, CMS
- Mobile App Vetting, CISA
- Next Generation Passport, Department of State
- Tempo Platform, Department of State
- The Integrated Personnel And Pay System-Army, U.S. Army
- Veterans Affairs Enterprise Cloud Fax Program, Department of Veterans Affairs