After merging two of our most celebrated ceremonies into one can’t-miss event, we’re thrilled to unveil the finalists for the 2025 Chief Officer Awards — a premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting.
From groundbreaking innovators to steadfast mission leaders, this year’s finalists represent the very best in federal leadership across industry and government.
Join us June 4, 11:30 a.m. at The Hilton in McLean, Virginia, for an in-person event and luncheon. In the coming weeks, we will be posting Q&As with some of the finalists, so keep your eye out for that.
Below are the industry finalists.
Private & Public Company
Artificial Intelligence Executive of the Year
- Sean Harrison, Acentra Health
- Rick Hubbard, Core4ce
- Kyle Tuberson, ICF
- Daniel Keller, ECS
- Brandy Durham, ManTech International
- Andrew Hallman, Peraton
Private Company
CEO of the Year
Annual Revenue Greater than $100M and Less than $500M
- Simone Feldman, Govplace
- Scott Pfister, Precise Systems, Inc.
- Rick Wagner, Agile Defense
- Mike Morehouse, Core4ce
- Jon Rucker, Ultra Intelligence & Communications
- Jeff Bohling, Empower AI
- Dennis Kelly, Tyto Athene
Public Company
CEO of the Year
Annual Revenue Greater than $100M and Less than $500M
- Zach Parker, DLH Corp.
- John Ustica, Siemens Government Technologies
- Daniel Ford, Capgemini Government Solutions
Private & Public Company
CEO of the Year
Annual Revenue Greater than $500M
- Doug Wagoner, LMI Consulting, LLC
- Bill Ballhaus, Mercury Systems
- Andy Green, HII Mission Technologies
Private Company
CEO of the Year
Annual Revenue Less than $100M
- Wendy Romeu, Alluvionic
- Wayne Wilkinson, Integral Federal, Inc.
- Rob Schroder, SteerBridge
- Jonathan Evans, B&A
- John Akkara, Smoothstack
- Alex Duan, Dynamo Technologies
Private & Public
CFO of the Year
Annual Revenue Greater than $100M and Less than $500M
- Angela Rothwell, Precise Systems, Inc.
- Kathryn JohnBull, DLH Corp.
- Larry Bradshaw, Tria Federal
- Mladen Brkic, Ultra Intelligence & Communications
- Pamela Rothka, Empower AI
- Zach Sampson, Diné Development Corporation
Private & Public
CFO of the Year
Annual Revenue Greater than $500M
- Daniel Mitchell, Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
- Ryan Garner, ECS
- Travis Johnson, Amentum
Private
CFO of the Year
Annual Revenue Less than $100M
- Amy Wood, Intelligent Waves
- David Uehlinger, Gunnison
- JD Kuhn, Auria
- Jill McFarlane, Redhorse
- Kathleen Dickson, A-TEK Inc.
- Manuel Mendez, Integral Federal, Inc.
Private
CGO or BD Executive of the Year
Annual Revenue Greater than $100M and Less than $500M
- Amir Capriles, Granicus
- Dan Reed, Govplace
- Dan Riggs, Diné Development Corporation
- John Hart, Agile Defense
- Kelli Usé-Hull, Clarity Innovations, LLC
- Pat Collins, Auria
Private & Public
CGO or BD Executive of the Year
Annual Revenue Greater than $500M
- Dave Hearding, Systems Planning & Analysis
- Marcus Lopez, Belcan
- Paul Tartaglione, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Ravi Dankanikote, Science Applications International Corporation
- Rich Bamonte, V2X
- Sean Love, Peraton
Private
CGO or BD Executive of the Year
Annual Revenue Less than $100M
- Amanda Windle, Integral Federal, Inc.
- Blake Hershey, MORI Associates
- Brian Westhoff, Gunnison
- Frank Russo, Pegasus Support Services, LLC
- Jeffrey Mujsce, BryceTech
- Mack McIntosh, Dynamo Technologies
Private & Public
CHRO or HR Executive of the Year
- Amy Orzechowski, RealmOne
- Christina Payne, Precise Systems, Inc.
- Danielle Cole, Agile Defense
- Julie Anna Barker, ManTech International
- Kristen Mullins, Integral Federal, Inc.
- Rebecca Hannahs, Siemens Government Technologies
Private & Public
CMO or Marketing Executive of the Year
- Amanda Rudolph, Ultra Intelligence & Communications
- Brian Wagner, Tria Federal
- Jacqueline Lampert, Nokia Federal Solutions
- Melody Pleasure, Peraton
- Stephanie Haynes, MetroStar
Private
CTO of the Year
- Alex Thaman, Andesite
- Brent Hansen, Optiv + ClearShark
- Erik Ekwurzel, Slingshot Aerospace
- Harish Nanda, Acentra Health
- Jared Summers, LMI Consulting, LLC
- Jennifer Sample, Ph.D., Empower AI
Public
CTO of the Year
- Bob Rhodes, Thomson Reuters Special Services
- Bob Ritchie, Science Applications International Corporation
- Mike Raker, Maximus
- Noel Hara, NTT DATA
Private
Cybersecurity Executive of the Year
- Chris Dias, LMI Consulting, LLC
- Patti Chanthaphone, Tyto Athene
- Robert Denz, Riverside Research
- Scott Edwards, Summit 7 Systems
- Steve O’Dell, ASRC Federal
- Tom Afferton, Peraton
Public
Cybersecurity Executive of the Year
- Derek Hardy, Marvell Technology
- Eric Trexler, Palo Alto Networks
- Paul Michaels, Fortinet Federal
- Steve Hittle, ECS
Private & Public
DoD Executive of the Year
- Cedric George, MetroStar
- Greg Bowman, Siemens Government Technologies
- James Kennedy, Boeing
- Josh Jackson, Science Applications International Corporation
- Peter Santighian, ECS
- Shane Healey, Amentum
- Steve Shapiro, V2X
Private & Public
Executive Assistant (EA) of the Year
- Ashley Crouse, Amivero
- Cameron Orr, B&A
- Jenae Shank, Diné Development Corporation
- Kenisha Craig, DLH Corp.
- Nicole Alley, MORI Associates
Private & Public
General Counsel and / or Compliance Executive of the Year
- Jack Mulcaire, Clearview AI
- Jeremy Nance, V2X
- Matthew Madalo, Siemens Government Technologies
- Michelle Bryan, Intelsat
- Ryan Litrakis, B&A
- Zak Mahshie, Excella
Private & Public
Healthcare Executive of the Year
- Geoff Howard, ManTech International
- Jerry Hogge, Claritev
- Kamal Narang, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Meaghan Carter, Gunnison
- Nathan Sanders, BryceTech
- Tom Lapato, ECS