As a former chief administrative officer, Duane Piper filled a role that broke away from more traditional divisions of executive-level leadership.
He helped advance organizational strategic objectives of growth and operational maturity, while also leading the corporate functions of human resources, contracts, pricing, quality, security and facilities; coordinating corporate legal affairs; serving as the corporate ethics officer; and participating in the company’s M&A activity.
“The CAO contributes to the organization’s overarching strategy, while also serving as a hands-on leader for assigned administrative functions, growing and maturing them in relation to organizational growth,” Piper said.
Traditionally, many of Piper’s responsibilities would fall under a chief operating officer or chief financial officer. But Piper believes that given the demands of operational excellence and financial performance, having a CAO allows the COO to focus on customer relations, contract delivery and program expansion.
It also lets the CFO concentrate on financial planning, accounting, banking, investment operations and providing financial guidance to the CEO and senior leadership.
“I believe that as a stand-alone role, the CAO focus emphasizes the importance of the non-financial administrative performance to the overall success of the company,” Piper said. “When I first assumed the role, I thought the title of CAO and its focus was fairly unique, but I did see its value and have since come to believe that it is becoming more common, if not by title, then by assignment of the administrative responsibilities.”
As for a CAO’s participation in M&A activities, Piper believes it likely varies from organization to organization.
“Some may be heavily involved ‘from tip to tail,’ while others will have more narrowly focused involvement,” he said.
Given the CAO’s role, at a minimum, support should be provided for due diligence and integration on the buy side, and organizational prep, management presentations, due diligence and pre-closing preparation on the sell side, Piper added.
“In my case, given that we purchased and integrated three businesses over a two-year period, and later sold the company, I was able to provide a great deal of support and gain valuable hands-on experience on the buy and sell sides,” he said.
A CAO, he added, should also support organic growth. In his case, that meant leading contract teams that reviewed and negotiated with customers and partners, supported pricing development, cost and profitability reviews, and built business and cost volumes for proposals. He also coordinated contract and legal matters like special indemnity negotiations, OCI mitigation, IP rights protection and export review and approval requirements.
Enhancing Growth and Delivery, Withstanding Scrutiny
For about 12 years, Piper worked in Fortune 100 companies in GovCon, gaining large company experience. But for the last 18 years, he helped grow and mature smaller organizations, allowing him to gain broader experience, including working in private equity-backed business.
His broad experience made for a good fit with the CAO role.
“My role evolved as the company grew and based on the expanse of experience that I had gained in GovCon over 30 years, leading as the CAO made sense,” Piper said.
Some 31 years ago, Piper began developing foundational skills in leadership and government contracting as a non-commissioned officer and contracting specialist while on active duty in the Air Force. He has worked in private-sector GovCon since 1994.
Piper said a CAO should focus on ensuring the company’s corporate administrative operations to “enhance the delivery of what we promised to our customers, that the operating platform scales in relation to the company’s growth, and withstands the scrutiny of being a growing GovCon.”
“I reminded my folks routinely, regardless of which functional department they worked in, that we were there to support the growth and service delivery of Aeyon,” he added. “And even as an executive, I saw myself in a support role to those members of the C-suite who were responsible for going out and growing the business and then delivering it.”
During his time as CAO at Aeyon, Piper led several key initiatives. His teams implemented a Defense Department-compliant procurement system, consolidated and recertified ISO 9001, 14001 and CMMI Level 3 standards, launched a new HRIS platform, enhanced learning, development and performance management efforts, and developed a job framework to support company growth and reflect a broader range of skills and capabilities.
Piper was with Aeyon for five and a half years, transitioning from COO to the CAO role early in 2022. The legacy business he joined had 70 employees and $21 million in revenue focused mostly on DOD.
Over the next two and a half years, before Aeyon was sold in September 2024, the company entered a private equity partnership, acquired and integrated three businesses and grew to 725 employees and $200 million in annual sales — successfully merging four organizations into one.
Piper believes companies hiring a CAO should prioritize candidates with broad functional experience in GovCon operations, exposure to both large and small business environments and private equity experience if that’s part of the company’s strategy.
Equally important, he says, is finding someone who can build an operating platform, adapt through trial and error, and lead with humility. Teamwork, cross-functional coordination and communication and the ability to support delivery and growth from behind the scenes are traits he sees as essential to the role.