Alex Bender built her career in digital communications, but at Core4ce she has increasingly pushed beyond traditional marketing roles — leading collaborative initiatives designed to accelerate innovation, sharpen proposal readiness and connect emerging technologies to mission needs.
Bender, senior vice president of communications, marketing and brand development at Core4ce, is a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards in the Private Company CMO or Marketing Executive of the Year category. The event takes place live June 2.
In this spotlight, Bender discusses key Core4ce events, the company’s research and development capabilities, and why the MarCom function is about strategic enablement rather than content production alone.
What key achievements did you have in 2025/2026?
One of my most unexpected, but highly rewarding achievements in 2025 was executing Core4ce’s first ever Innovation Challenge. The initial concept arose as I took part in discussions about the changing federal procurement environment and the need to rapidly showcase innovative technologies. I recruited challenge participants from across the company, assembled multidisciplinary teams, and gave them 10 days to build a bio-event tracking system and video proposal using low-code/no-code and AI tools.
The benefits were wide ranging. The challenge generated business intelligence on which technologies best support rapid solutioning and storytelling, surfaced hidden technical and presentation skills, and created opportunities for genuine connection and collaboration among our distributed workforce. By staging a competitive rehearsal for real-world procurements, I aimed to deepen Core4ce’s preparedness to get mission-critical solutions in the hands of the warfighter.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
A primary focus area at the moment is designing and executing Core4ce’s inaugural R&D Summit this fall in Dayton, Ohio. Our R&D capabilities have grown significantly in recent years across advanced material development, directed energy and sensors, military electronics and photonics. Our aim with the summit is to draw on lessons from government, academia and industry — including Core4ce’s experience delivering alongside mission partners — to discuss turning bold ideas into fielded capabilities at speed. The program will examine what separates promising research and prototypes from solutions that get funded, deployed and scaled — and why that translation is essential for mission success and U.S. national competitiveness.
My background is in digital communications, but I’ve increasingly come to recognize and value the opportunity to bring people together for our live events, which are designed to foster meaningful dialogue and generate mission momentum.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Nine times out of 10, someone is going to come to you and ask for a tactical deliverable — a deck, a video, a slick sheet — and your instinct is going to be to say yes and get it done. Resist that instinct. Take a beat, initiate a collaborative discussion, and focus on what your team is actually trying to achieve before determining how to achieve it. The best MarCom professionals aren’t just versatile tacticians; they’re strategic partners who help define the right solution before executing it.
What is something about you that most people do not know?
I’ve realized that I have a tendency to try things once simply to prove that I can — and to push myself beyond my comfort zone. Examples over the years include competing in the Miss South Carolina pageant, completing my first (and only) sprint triathlon, and getting scuba certified in French Polynesia.
