As vice president of marketing at Sigma Defense, Scott Aukema develops and implements strategic, innovative programs to build brand awareness and drive customer engagement and business growth. He brings a growth mindset and years of marketing success to the role.
Yet Aukema didn’t always know this would be his path.
“I wish I could say that I was one of those people who always knew exactly what they wanted to be, but the truth is, I found my career path by learning what I was not good at and eventually discovering that I loved the intersection of art and science that is marketing,” he told WashingtonExec.
Aukema’s marketing career began in telecom in the late 1990s at MCI, where he worked in consumer, SMB and business marketing. He later had a brief stint at GTSI.
“I built on that government marketing experience at technology companies like iDirect, Cisco, and ViON over the course of 20+ years where I found my love for telling a story and connecting the right people with the right information at the right time to grow our businesses,” he added.
Ultimately, that led him to his current role at Sigma Defense.
Below, Aukema shares more about his career path, his background and personal connection to Sigma Defense’s mission, why mentorship matters in GovCon and more.
Why was this the path you chose, and how influential was it to your career?
I’m not sure if it’s me choosing my path or my path choosing me. What I do know that along that path and throughout my career, I have worked with incredibly smart, creative, and collaborative people that I have learned from and continue to learn from every day. Being surrounded by people that not only help me grow, but I genuinely like being around has made such a difference in my career. And that is particularly true at Sigma Defense.
Do you have a personal connection to the current mission you support?
I do. I often say one of my few regrets in life is not serving in the military. I have had the privilege of working alongside many veterans and I have tremendous admiration and respect for anyone who has worn a uniform and served our country. I look at the opportunities I’ve had over my career to support our servicemen and women and in that gives me a sense of pride. Having a connection to national security and being part of something bigger than myself is important to me in many ways.
What are your current top priorities and responsibilities? How do these relate to your company’s overall mission/growth strategy?
Growing the Sigma Defense brand and growing the business. That’s an overly simple answer and the more nuanced version is that Sigma Defense is purpose built to address the challenges of CJADC2, Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control, for the military. We have a great story to tell and I’m always looking for new ways to deliver our message. My goal as a marketing leader is to create great content that resonates and helps our customers understand how we can help them be more effective. I know I’m doing my job when someone approaches me at a trade show and says, “I keep hearing about Sigma Defense – tell me more about what you guys do.”
Where do you and your team see growth opportunities in your current field or portfolio you support, or what do you anticipate to be your customers’ top pain points?
The landscape is constantly changing and the pace at which it’s changing is accelerating rapidly. Whether it’s technology, shifting administration priorities, new threats, or something else, we want to be the constant for our customers. That’s not just a marketing thing; that’s a company thing. If we can stay ahead of the curve and help our customers be prepared for what’s next and as a marketer, I can help position Sigma Defense as that company, the pieces will fall into place.
How important is mentorship & networking in GovCon? Were they influential to your career?
With respect to career growth, I think the only thing more important than your reputation is your network and the two go hand-in-hand. Every opportunity I’ve had has come through a personal connection. In fact, my current role at Sigma Defense was a direct result of the Washington Executive community and introduction made between Rocky Thurston and my CEO Matt Jones.
I think it’s important to distinguish between having a network and having a network built on meaningful connections and that comes down to fostering strong relationships over the course of your career. In every phase of your career, not only are you building skills for the next evolution, but relationships that you can tap into for advice and guidance in the future – that’s a give and take. These are probably the most important lessons I’ve learned and lessons I’m attempting to impart on my two boys who are currently in college (both are at Tennessee – Go Vols!).
What is something most people don’t know about you personally?
The only class that I took in college that I can directly link to earning an income is calligraphy – I’ve written invitations for more than 20 weddings.