Simone Feldman has been CEO of Govplace for over three years, where she focuses on delivering innovative federal IT solutions in cybersecurity, cloud services and performance monitoring.
As a value-added reseller and systems integrator, Govplace’s mission is to help government customers solve challenges with best-of-breed technologies and services — and Feldman feels strongly about leading this mission with an intentional organizational culture.
Feldman brings over 17 years of executive leadership experience to the role. She’s well-versed in federal contracting and procurement, and is a founding member of Chief, a private network dedicated to empowering senior women leaders.
But becoming a CEO herself wasn’t always the goal, as she shares below. In fact, it wasn’t until later in her career she found a passion for federal IT and leadership.
Why was this the path you chose, and how influential was it to your career?
My path to becoming a CEO wasn’t linear — it started in technology sales almost by accident. I majored in International Relations with a focus on Southeast Asia after studying Japanese for eight years. When I moved to a small town in Minnesota, I stumbled across a job at Best Power, a Wisconsin-based UPS manufacturer looking for a Japanese speaker. It felt like fate.
That role launched my career in tech sales, where I supported international customers and leaned into my love for language, culture, and building relationships. With the support of great mentors and former bosses, I progressed through multiple sales positions.
When I returned to Maryland after 17 years, I joined a small business selling to the federal government — and discovered my passion. I unexpectedly thrust into a player/coach role leading the sales team. Over the next 10 years, I grew the team and helped lead the company, eventually becoming executive vice president. Along the way, I was given the opportunity to learn every aspect of the business — from finance to engineering.
That’s when I realized I wanted to be a CEO. I believed I could lead differently: grow a business without sacrificing culture and build high-performing teams while staying true to core values. I’m especially passionate about bringing more women into tech and helping companies innovate in service of our Federal Government.
In 2022, thanks to mentors who believed in me and relationships I nurtured over time, I became the CEO of Govplace. It’s the role I chose — and one I was finally ready for.
What are your current top priorities and responsibilities? How do these relate to your company’s overall mission/growth strategy?
As CEO of a small Federal IT VAR, my top priorities are clear: building a culture of high performance, staying relentlessly customer-focused, and driving sustainable growth in an increasingly complex and competitive landscape.
Today’s federal customers are navigating rapid modernization demands, tighter budgets, and evolving mission needs. Our role as a trusted partner is to help them cut through the noise — with innovative, agile solutions that are easy to buy, easy to deploy, and truly mission-enhancing. That means staying ahead of emerging tech, deepening our OEM relationships, and continuing to invest in technical talent and delivery excellence.
At the same time, I’m deeply committed to our people and our culture. One of my core beliefs is that you don’t have to sacrifice culture to scale. Growth and strong culture can, and should, coexist. That’s why I focus on building empowered, diverse teams and creating space for innovation at every level of the organization.
Our growth strategy isn’t just about our numbers — it’s about creating lasting value for our customers, our employees, and our partners. I want Govplace to be known not just for what we deliver, but for how we show up: with integrity, curiosity, and a deep commitment to supporting our customers.
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?
Today our federal customers’ pain points are probably different than they were a year ago. The changes happening around federal acquisition regulations are creating a lot of uncertainty, coupled with ongoing changes to personnel and the push to move to modern infrastructures with greater agility and potential savings, means they need partners who can help them create roadmaps to bring their architectures up to speed with today’s technologies.
Our growth strategy is focused on expanding our footprint to de-risk the business and allow for more scale, doubling down on future-proof technology solutions that focus on delivering outcomes to our customers, as-a-service and as-a-value, and delivering an exceptional customer experience. We partner with our customers to help enable and empower their innovation today and into the future.
How important is mentorship & networking in GovCon? Were they influential to your career?
In GovCon, mentorship & networking are part of everything we do as business leaders. Trusted relationships in the industry allow competitors to work together to present complete solutions to customers. I leverage the people I have met and known along the way every day especially as we navigate these changing times in our industry. Even at the agency level, they have mentor-protegee programs to help support and promote small business growth within the agency. because of the nature of federal acquisition process and the complexity and scope of the work the government requires from its vendor community, networking and mentorship are arguably more important in GovCon than in other industries.
Mentorship has been a cornerstone of my career. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance, belief, and sometimes tough feedback from mentors who saw potential in me before I saw it in myself. I’m committed to paying that forward—by mentoring others both within and outside the industry, and by being a sounding board for aspiring leaders as they navigate their own journeys.
What is something most people don’t know about you personally?
I am an avid tennis player and believe strongly that having an outlet that allows you to be competitive, active and social all at once, and is separate from your work, makes you a better leader and more well-rounded person. Find something you love to do that gives you a chance to step out of your day-to-day and it will enhance all aspects of your life.