Nicole Peace arrived at HR through a detour most résumés wouldn’t survive — a fine arts degree, a mural painting business and a brief ambition to do special effects makeup in Hollywood. What she found instead, in an entry-level admin role at CACI, was something she hadn’t been looking for: a career built around people.
Today, Peace is chief people officer at Applied Information Sciences, a title the company created for her. She leads the people strategy for a tech consulting firm where, as she puts it, talent is the product.
In this Q&A, she talks about what it takes to build a workforce that stays ahead of the market — and why a line out the door is exactly what she’s aiming for.
Can you provide a brief overview of your professional background and career progression?
I began my career on a very different path, earning a BFA in painting from the University of Miami and initially pursuing work as an artist, including launching a residential mural painting business. In my mid-20s, I realized I was seeking greater stability, and a career centered around people. That led me to an entry-level admin/HR role at CACI.
At CACI, I progressed through several roles including both corporate and client-facing positions, building foundational HR experience. I later joined a small, high-growth startup (Metis Solutions) where I spent eight years helping build and scale the HR function as the organization expanded, culminating in its ultimate acquisition by PAE. That experience shaped my passion for organizational growth and people-focused business strategy.
In 2021 I joined AIS as Vice President of Human Resources. About a year later, I was promoted into AIS’s first ever Chief People Officer role, where I now lead the company’s People strategy and transformation efforts.
Why was this the path you chose, and how influential was it to your career?
I didn’t intentionally set out to build a career in HR. When I stepped into the administrative role at CACI I was exposed to HR responsibilities that sparked an unexpected but meaningful career pivot.
What proved especially influential was the environment of that first role. Working in a small office supporting a division leadership team, I was immersed in ongoing business discussions and included in meetings, stand-ups, and strategic off-sites. In hindsight, it was a unique opportunity where I learned as much about business and government contracting as I did about HR itself.
A second defining experience was taking the step to join a startup, where I spent years experiencing what it was like to scale the HR function as the company grew. Both experiences have been highly influential in my role today, supporting business scalability and operational effectiveness through alignment of People Operations with broader organizational goals.
What are your current top priorities and responsibilities? How do these relate to your company’s overall mission/growth strategy?
A top priority in my role is ensuring AIS continues to stand out as an employer of choice. This enables us to not only attract exceptional talent, but build a deep talent pipeline of professionals ready and waiting to contribute as business and client needs emerge. In other words, I want a line out the door.
As a tech consulting organization, talent is our product, and the strength, readiness, and engagement of our workforce are directly tied to our ability to deliver for clients and sustain growth.
This focus on being an employer of choice is reflected in our broader employee experience strategy, centered on meaningful work, career growth, and connection to organizational success, and realized through initiatives spanning talent acquisition, career development, performance and recognition, wellness, and engagement.
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?
A key growth opportunity in tech consulting will always be the ability to stay ahead of rapidly evolving skill demands rather than simply reacting to them. As emerging technologies continue to reshape our client’s priorities, proactively investing in capability development will position us to lead conversations, deliver early value, and differentiate ourselves in a competitive market. AI is of course a timely example.
How are you and your team planning to address/prepare for these opportunities?
We are addressing this opportunity by taking a deliberate, organization-wide approach to AI readiness. We have a culture where continuous learning and experimentation with AI tools are encouraged, accessible, and supported through multiple formats. A key focus is not only providing resources, but also accelerating adoption by highlighting practical use cases and creating space for teams to apply AI in their daily work.
Additionally, our People Ops team is also actively adopting AI tools ourselves. By building familiarity and comfort with AI we strengthen both our internal operational effectiveness and our ability to serve as informed partners in guiding workforce adoption and upskilling across the organization.
How important is mentorship & networking in GovCon? Were they influential to your career?
Mentorship and networking have played a meaningful role throughout my career. Early on, I participated in a formal mentorship program where I was paired with a senior HR leader while I was expecting my first child. Beyond HR guidance, what proved most impactful was discussing how she navigated her career while raising three children. That relationship and her inspirational example have stayed with me for over a decade.
Networking has been equally important, particularly within the GovCon community, where relationships often shape opportunity. Many of the roles and experiences that have defined my career can be traced back to prior connections, personal recommendations, and professional networks. These relationships have led to opportunities that likely wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
What is something most people don’t know about you personally?
While I was pursuing my mural painting career, I also became a certified makeup artist. I had a dream of moving to Hollywood to become a special effects makeup artist. That dream did not become a reality, but I have had fun using my cosmetology training to do my friend’s wedding makeup and apply some pretty awesome Halloween horror makeup for friends and family.