The finalists for WashingtonExec’s 2024 Pinnacle Awards were announced Sept. 20, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person Nov. 21.
Next is John Hart, chief growth officer at Agile Defense, and finalist in the Business Development Executive of the Year, Private Company, category. Here, he talks about recent achievements, shares career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2024?
Both for me professionally and for Agile overall, 2024 has been filled with growth, learning and change. I am proud that I was able to focus on growing Agile and making us the best in the business. Specifically, I led the restructuring of our growth team to create stronger alignment with our evolving operational model and established growth vectors within the organization that better focused our efforts for on-program growth. We also initiated a Community of Practice concept within Agile to further drive innovation with the company by encouraging our teams to advance their skills and explore new ideas and technologies so that they can better support our customers.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
Our focus moving forward is all about growth. We have been working to improve our PWIN by strengthening our Capture through more effective decision making. We are looking at opportunities to diversify our portfolio by pursuing the federal civilian market and selectively attacking the larger opportunity market by supporting Book to Bill and Top Line Growth while also winning key IDIQ vehicles to grow our current market position.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
I got to where I’m at by constantly wanting to be better and putting myself in new and uncomfortable situations that require me to grow – both personally and professionally. So if I had to give one piece of career advice to a young person, I’d tell them to be curious; be a continuous learner. No matter where you’re at in your career, you can still learn and grow. Take every opportunity you can, put yourself out there and don’t be afraid to take a chance on yourself, even if it makes you uncomfortable.
Fun Fact: What is something about you that most people do not know?
Outside of work, I enjoy cheering on my alma mater, the University of Florida, especially during football season (Go Gators!). I also like to target and skeet shoot and love traveling with my family.