After three decades inside the machinery of government contracting, Duane J. Piper knows what it takes to build companies that last. He started in contracts administration, learned the discipline of the work from the ground up and steadily moved into the boardroom, guiding organizations through growth, transformation and high-stakes moments like acquisitions and exits.
Now, as chief administrative officer at Objective Area Solutions, Piper has taken on what he calls one more ride: helping shape the next chapter of a small but ambitious GovCon firm.
In this Q&A, he talks about the long view of leadership, why OAS caught his attention and how the company is positioning itself at the intersection of civil and defense aviation as it prepares for rapid growth.
Tell us about your professional background.
Over the course of three decades in the private-sector GovCon arena, I have built a career rooted in management and technology consulting across organizations of every size—from small and mid-market firms to large, privately held, publicly traded, and private-equity-backed enterprises. I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunities to grow professionally within our challenging industry; my experiences have provided valuable insight to how organizations grow, transform, and position themselves for long-term success.
My journey began in contracts administration, where I learned the foundational mechanics of government contracting and the operational discipline required to support it. This experience served as the springboard to progress into roles focused on broader business and financial operations, corporate affairs, and ultimately C-Suite leadership, while also maintaining tentacles in the contract operations that drive GovCon business. I’m proud that along the way I’ve been involved with many strategic growth initiatives (organic and inorganic), helped scale operations in alignment with rapid growth and expansion, and led efforts spanning the spectrum of corporate development that includes enterprise-level strategic planning, organizational design, and the challenging work of managing workforce and operational expansion.
I have overseen business, financial, and government contract planning and execution, ensuring that organizations remain compliant and competitive, and led corporate banking, legal and investment banking engagements, where I partnered with internal and external stakeholders to guide critical decisions, and played an active role in buy-side and sell-side M&A activities, helping to navigate numerous transactions.
I’ve enjoyed 30 years of serving with our government contracting community, helping to build strong organizations, develop people, and enhance organizational performance.
How did you land in your current role?
Until the Summer of 2025 I had never heard of Objective Area Solutions or its Founder and CEO, JJ Stakem, but given that I wanted to take one more ride at helping to build and mature a small GovCon business, I’m glad that we were introduced!
Immediately prior to assuming my role with OAS, I was part of the executive team that matured Aeyon from 70 to 725 employees and $21M to $200M of annual sales. This included buying and fully integrating three companies, supporting organic growth initiatives leveraging the company’s enhanced capabilities and past performance, scaling corporate operations and maturing administrative operations to facilitate the company’s successful sale in 2024.
What is your top priority right now?
Support our OAS CEO in writing the company’s story of rapid growth, expansion and organizational maturity.
Where do you see growth opportunities?
Positioning OAS as the solutions provider of choice at the intersection of civil and defense aviation where we leverage our deep subject matter expertise in technical and engineering support, program optimization and aviation safety.
How is the company preparing for growth?
Enhancing an already strong operating platform to ensure we continue to deliver on the commitments we make to our customers, investing in our organic growth capabilities, positioning our subject matter expertise where it is best leveraged for growth and/or delivery, and looking at opportunities to acquire scale, expanding our capability and customer portfolios.