As president of Synergy ECP, Phil Murphy leads with a simple principle: Take care of your people, and mission success will follow.
A former engineer who rose through the ranks to oversee multimillion-dollar programs, Murphy brings both technical depth and business insight to his leadership. In this Q&A, he shares how he keeps culture and innovation at the center of Synergy’s growth, why empowering engineers is key to customer success, and where he sees the greatest opportunities ahead for the company.
Tell us about your role as president of Synergy ECP.
As President, my role is to make sure our people, culture, and technical excellence are always aligned with customer mission success. I focus on creating an environment where engineers and technical professionals are empowered to thrive, because I’ve seen firsthand that when people are supported and engaged, the results for customers follow.
What do you consider your top priorities in this role?
My top priorities are straightforward:
1. Investing in our people – providing opportunities for training, mentorship, and career advancement.
2. Protecting and strengthening our culture – ensuring Synergy remains a place where people feel valued and inspired.
3. Delivering for our customers – keeping a relentless focus on technical excellence and accountability.
4. Driving technical innovation – investing in training, R&D, and prototyping to develop technical solutions for our mission space.
If we take care of our people and deliver consistently for our customers, everything else—growth, partnerships, and impact, naturally follows.
What prepared you for this role?
I began my career delivering on contract as an infrastructure engineer. Those years taught me what it means to directly support the mission, solve problems in real time, and work shoulder to shoulder with customers. Later, I transitioned into business leadership and led the Intelligence Business Unit at Applied Insight, where I was responsible for more than $120 million in annual revenue, and played a key role in the company ultimately being acquired.
That journey, from hands-on engineer to leading a large business unit, shaped how I lead today. It gave me both the technical foundation and the business perspective, but more importantly, it reinforced my belief that people and culture are what truly set great companies apart.
What’s something people might not know about you as a leader?
I never forget what it’s like to deliver on contract. That experience keeps me grounded and drives my “people first, mission always” approach to leadership. My role is to stay connected to our teams, listen to their challenges, and remove barriers so they can succeed. Leadership, to me, is about service, making sure our people have what they need to deliver their very best for the mission. I’ve learned throughout my time in this industry that to be great, you need to hire great people and get out of their way.
Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunities for Synergy ECP?
The greatest opportunity for Synergy lies in continuing to attract, retain, and grow exceptional talent. As we expand across data driven solutions, cyber, software engineering, and enterprise IT, our ability to deliver will always come back to the strength of our people and the culture we’ve built. We’re focused on purposeful growth, scaling in a way that creates opportunity for our employees, strengthens our culture, and drives measurable impact for our customers and the nation.