As corporate vice president of technology, Chris Sharbaugh spent the last 15 years at Sabel Systems Technology Solutions running a practice for Air Force, Space, Army and midmarket manufacturing. He’s dedicated to the Defense Department’s mission and accelerating its adoption of digital solutions.
Yet it wasn’t a personal connection to the defense mission that fueled his passion. During his graduate degree studies of human factors, his professors were pilots, engineers and researchers who participated in the rapid evolutions of DOD and space systems.
“They found and fed my interest in weapon systems. The rest of my career has focused on integrating new systems into the DoD and the processes needed to keep them in the fight,” Sharbaugh told WashingtonExec.
He was a human factors researcher and system engineer early in his career before spending 9 years at KPMG Peat Marwick supporting DOD and industry supply chain, system acquisition, finance and legal. Sharbaugh was also a highly qualified expert appointee as the Air Force Logistics chief data officer.
“[This path] is a natural progression based on my strengths and passions,” Sharbaugh said. “I enjoy helping organizations and teams address tough problems and maximize their potential. I think it’s why I studied Clinical Psychology, Philosophy, and History as an undergrad and transitioned to systems engineering and computing.”
Today, he’s continuing his work supporting DOD digital innovation. Below, he shares more about his current priorities, where he and his team sees growth opportunities, the importance of mentorship in GovCon and more.
What are your current top priorities and responsibilities? How do these relate to your company’s overall mission/growth strategy?
My highest priority is to continue to advance heterogeneous digital engineering ecosystems that leverage automation and AI to assist the DOD in the rapid acquisition and sustainment of space and weapon systems. It continues Sabel’s continued growth as a defense technology and digital engineering leader.
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?
There are so many opportunities to advance and invigorate how the DOD acquires and sustains its space and weapon systems. Digital Engineering; Model Based Research; Design, Analysis, and Testing; sustainment and supply chain spare and repair decision making; and platform software integration are broad areas for growth. The largest customer pain point is doing more with less while fulfilling the requirements of the warfighter and the national defense priorities. AI & ML, data meshes, configuration management/PLM, Modeling Simulation and Analysis, Hybrid/multi cloud are all enabling solutions for big opportunities like Golden Dome and numerous platform acquisitions and modification programs.
How are you and your team planning to address/prepare for these opportunities?
We have a multi-thread approach to address/prepare for the opportunities, continuing the development of platforms such as Sabel Solutions, Integrate Trusted and Leading Partner Solution, and acquire solutions to fill the gaps. The launch of Sabel Digital Labs has also bolstered how we approach digital engineering capabilities as a company.
How important is mentorship & networking in GovCon? Were they influential to your career?
Mentoring & networking are essential. Mentoring provides an invaluable source of business and decision-making tradecraft gained from other’s successes and failures. Networking is the foundation for actionable insights, collaborations, and the qualification of opportunities and risks. I had the benefit of access to great mentors at each of the places I have worked, and it’s something I’m committed to as I continue in my career.
What is something most people don’t know about you personally?
I really love the sport of lacrosse and have coached at the youth and high school levels. It combines the best elements of hockey, basketball, and soccer into a fast-paced physical game that requires endurance, intelligence, and resilience to prevail. Many of the things I have learned over my professional experiences apply to coaching youth, and coaching youth helped make me be a better leader within Sabel.