WashingtonExec’s 2018 Top 10 Executives to Watch in National Security list includes senior vice presidents, vice presidents and sector leaders contributing to executing the mission at the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement agencies.
Why watch: These leaders play key roles in the modernization, protection and defense of the technologies that fuel missions on land, sea, air and space. Throughout this list, we’re placing bets these industry leaders will continue drive value and exceed expectations across all levels of government. Highlighted security-related missions touch on critical infrastructure and cyber-connected operating equipment, internet of things and enterprise IT, border protection and space, to name a few.
Mark Escobar, SAIC
Mark Escobar is the senior vice president and general manager of SAIC’s National Security Customer Group, where he supports the intelligence community, Air Force, Combatant Commands and various Defense Department offices and agencies. Before joining SAIC in 1999, Escobar worked for Boeing Information Services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense managing technical support and network operations. He served in the Air Force and Peace Corps early in his career.
Why watch: Escobar’s background in the military, as a civil servant, in the Peace Corps and as a defense contractor places him in a unique position to understand today’s problems from multiple view points.
“All that gives me a perspective in terms of the best way to look at a problem and the best way to handle figuring out what the solution is,” he said. “At SAIC, we’re investing in some great technologies that range from machine learning to data analytics, advances in IT modernization, common operating pictures, new cyber technologies — all those things are critical. My job is to create that culture in my market where we can deploy those solutions to make a big difference and be impactful to our customers.”
Over the past year or so, Escobar has been a key leader in a longstanding and recently renewed contract to oversee enterprise IT for the Central Command as well as more recent new work with the Cyber Command. He also has a prominent role in work that will go into three substantial contracts around space control in Los Angeles and Colorado Springs.
With those contracts and others, Escobar understands the work that goes into embedding cybersecurity into SAIC’s solutions and processes, as well as defending against insider threats.
“Cyber is now integrated into our model-based systems engineering approach, and that’s huge because that’s pretty new in the market, and it’s differentiating for us,” Escobar said. “At SAIC, we look at cyber as a ground base requirement and build it in from the start.”
Public service announcement to the talent out there: SAIC is hiring.
“We’re looking at innovators, folks that really want to contribute to a noble mission in terms of helping our country and our world be more safe, and we want those exceptional folks out there to be part of our team,” Escobar said.
Don Fenhagen, IBM
Don Fenhagen, a 14-year veteran of IBM, is the lead client partner for the Department of Homeland Security with IBM U.S. Federal. He oversees the services provided to DHS, an entity whose contracts are a core component of IBM’s public sector business.
Why watch: IBM has worked with DHS since its 2002 creation, and Fenhagen is in a key role to continue making an impact on the mission and the company’s customers. From observing first-hand the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection and other DHS operations, to focusing on design thinking in application development and demonstrating leadership in analytics-based patented technologies, Fenhagen has lived out his “out in the trenches” approach to leadership. Moving forward, he is especially excited over continuing IBM’s support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency including the Risk MAP Customer and Data Services project as well as a contract focused on supporting modernizing financial systems for DHS.
“IBM has been around for more than 100 years, and we’ve been supporting government missions since the beginning of IBM,” Fenhagen said. “I think DHS, and the government as a whole, looks very similar to IBM. We’re transforming and innovating our business, and our clients are doing the same. Our deep understanding of and experience with our clients missions, the direction in which technology is headed globally in both private and public sector and the ability to transform positions us well as a strategic partner for DHS.”
As technology continues to evolve, Fenhagen expects chief information officers to play increasingly important roles in the mission. CIOs and chief information security officer are critical to keeping the mission moving and IT will play a more critical role in organizations’ day-to-day mission, from chief financial officers getting real-time financial reports to FEMA personnel supporting disaster survivors in the field and ensuring safe airline travel. He also expects IBM’s investment in blockchain, cloud and quantum computing technology to become more important in the near future.
“The investments in next-generation technology we are making are going to prove critical for the future of the national security mission,” he said. “Government is heavily experimenting with blockchain now and figuring out how it can become a reality in things like identity management, insurance, finance and trade, where we’ve made big leaps forward in blockchain with commercial partners such as Walmart and Maersk and major banks and insurance providers. Those kind of commercial projects are very significant to government agencies around the world that want to be able to better understand trade and finance transactions out in the field and more seamlessly communicate and share data with there commercial partners for more efficient flow of commerce, better and streamlined business operations.”
During Fenhagen’s career at IBM, supporting DHS’ mission and the men and women who serve every day has by far been his proudest moment. “The hard work, dedication and sense of mission DHS employees have is what drives me and my team to ensure we are always doing our best to serve them, deliver innovation that matters, and be proud that the work our dedicated IBM team does is making a difference,” he said.
Jack Johnson, Guidehouse
Jack Johnson is partner and national security practice leader at Veritas Capital’s public sector business, Guidehouse, formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers Public Sector. His background includes 20 years in the Secret Service as well as three years as the first chief security officer for DHS. His career began in 1979 with the Fairfax County Police Department, working as an officer and criminal investigator. In recent years, Johnson has been featured on the “CBS Morning Show,” “Forensic Files” and “The Today Show.” He’s also testified before Congress on homeland security and national security issues.
Why watch: Johnson leads a business helping the Defense Department transform its financial management practices. This comes on the heels of a December 2017 Pentagon announcement of an annual agencywide financial audit — the first of its kind. Look for Johnson’s influence to figure prominently in the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s reform initiative, which explores how the agency can run more cost-effectively.
“For example, regarding contract efficiency, our efforts thus far are projecting anywhere from a 7 to 15 percent savings on contract values totaling almost $6 billion for re-prioritization while also increasing productivity in quality and services,” Johnson said.
Additionally, Johnson’s team is involved in work at the highest levels of the Air Force, the Army and the Navy to offer guidance on supply chain, maintenance and related processes that directly impact mission success. While financial management has been the cornerstone of the company’s growth and success — and constitutes the biggest chunk of the business in the national security sector — Johnson predicts a continued growth pattern in the company’s strategy and operations services. That includes work around supply chain, logistics, design for affordability, and sustainable cost reduction — areas where the former PwC group offers guidance to the military branches.
“One of our biggest poster child qualifications that we have is our work with U.S. Transportation Command over the last several years,” Johnson said. “We were challenged by the commander to help devise some sustainable cost solutions for the way they move people and goods and services around the world. We identified $50 million in savings during the first month followed by $1.5 billion saved across supply chain processes over four years.”
Bobby Lentz, Northrop Grumman Corp.
Bobby Lentz is vice president of Global Cyber Solutions for Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. He has held leadership roles for over 10 years at Northrop Grumman and has a background in systems engineering.
Why watch: Northrop Grumman has a long history of developing cyber tools, intelligence analytics and information assurance products and services used by the military and national security agencies, and Lentz is in the thick of the effort to put those offerings to work.
“Since the dawn of digital networks, the battlefield in cyberspace has been continually growing and morphing,” Lentz said. “The range of threats continues to grow exponentially, and that upward trend will likely continue into the future. As noted by our leaders in government, this nation and its allies must overcome and counter the full range of cyberattacks, including those perpetrated by cybercriminals all the way up to state-sponsored actions. We cannot meet each of these threats one counteraction at a time.”
To that end, Northrop Grumman is developing “flexible, multidomain cyber and cognitive analytical tools that can respond to the full spectrum of threats,” he said, and the company continues to be an industry leader in embedded cyber resiliency.
Lentz’s global cyber solutions team includes nearly 1,000 employees across the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
“Because of the nature of the business and the types of adversaries our customers face, much of the work we do is kept private,” Lentz said. “If we do our job right, many of our successes go unnoticed by the general public. But rest assured, Northrop Grumman is tackling the challenges that an increasingly interconnected digital globe presents.”
That includes providing scalable and agile software development, full-spectrum cyber tools, end-to-end data processing, real-time analytics of mission-critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data, threat knowledge databases and information management tools and biometric intelligence.
“We’re excited about new opportunities emerging in that space, such as Unified Platform and related programs,” he said.
Stephanie Mango, CGI Federal
Stephanie Mango is a senior vice president at CGI Federal, where she leads a team that serves the departments of Justice and Homeland Security, the intelligence community and others. She was named to FCW’s 2016 Fed 100 list in part for her work toward consolidating and modernizing shared services across executive branch agencies.
Why watch: Mango, a 23-year CGI veteran, continues her focus on consolidation and modernization of IT services and back-office systems in federal agencies. She leads the team that works with DHS on its Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation program, a governmentwide shared service, responsible for strengthening cybersecurity.
“The first phase was figuring out what is on everybody’s network, and the second phase is figuring out who is on your network, and then the third phase is defending your network,” Mango said. “At CGI, my team participated heavily in phase two, which is wrapping up in November. The program is now moving into the third phase, defending the network, and we’re excited to participate in this phase of the program implementing advanced security to mitigate continuing cybersecurity threats.”
Mango and her team also work with a number of agencies to modernize back-office systems with CGI solutions designed specifically for federal customers. Finally, Mango is excited about the company’s launch of a new D.C.-area innovation center, a space established to foster collaborative design thinking sessions to develop creative solutions, in partnership with federal agencies, to overcome challenges to mission success.
Marianne Meins, Parsons
Marianne Meins is vice president of critical infrastructure protection strategy at Parsons, where she has worked for the past three years. With more than 25 years’ experience working with cybersecurity research and development, Meins has held leadership positions at numerous technology companies.
At Parsons, she is involved in infrastructure protection, including sectors such as energy, transportation, health and government facilities. She spearheads the company’s converged security offering by providing an innovative framework for securing control systems, including the innovations that span them all — namely smart cities and intelligent transportation systems. Meins is active in the local community and serves as a CIP adviser to Capitol Technology University and on the executive advisory board of George Mason University’s Computer Game Design Program and the Virginia Serious Game Institute. In addition, she is an active thought leader in discussions around STEM education and infrastructure protection.
Why watch: Meins’ more than two-decades-long passion for protecting critical infrastructure places her in a prime position to provide leadership now that cybersecurity is a “must-have” for government and commercial enterprises. Meins is on the cutting edge of American industry’s response to the demand for technology-based solutions to evolving infrastructure threats.
“We’re seeing the demand for infrastructure protection as very strong right now,” Meins said, explaining Parsons takes a holistic approach to protection by considering issues around people, process and technology. “Arguably, one of the most newsworthy issues of late is the threat to our cyber-enabled industrial control systems (ICS) within our nation’s critical infrastructure.”
Parsons recently released the findings of a survey of ICS and operational technology engineers within U.S. critical infrastructure facilities. The survey revealed a lack of integration of OT and IT professionals within the organizations and models for assuring resilience to cybersecurity attacks that do not reflect a fully converged OT/IT approach.
“The biggest area where we see growth potential is in cyber-physical converged security and securing facility-related industrial control systems and the ever-expanding internet of things,” she said. “The interesting thing here is the control systems are being modernized without modernizing the OT security lifecycle to keep pace with its IT security peer.”
Thanks to Meins and Parsons’ federal team’s work, the corporation will soon roll out its CIP product. And over the next year, Meins expects to realize the benefits of the product rollout, as well as Parsons’ recent acquisition of cybersecurity and national security focused firm Polaris Alpha, the latest in the company’s series of strategic investments focused on companies with technologies aligned to evolving threats in all the domains. Prior to acquiring Polaris Alpha, Parsons acquired Williams Electric Co., which has become integrated into Parsons’ holistic approach to security.
“We have substantial expertise in infrastructure engineering through our design/build/protect role with clients and across the company we have so many technology-driven opportunities to provide Critical Infrastructure Protection: Defending against physical and cyber threats while ensuring safety, reliability and resiliency,” she said.
Meins will continue to play a key role in the CIP domain as government leaders emphasize the need to strengthen U.S. critical infrastructure security and resilience posture.
Todd Morris, Attain
Todd Morris is managing director for national security at Attain LLC, where he supports the Justice Department, the U.S. intelligence community and elements of DHS. With 27-plus years delivering IT and professional services focused on counterterrorism, counterintelligence and law enforcement, Morris has also previously served as vice president and business area director for homeland security at CSRA Inc., now GDIT.
Morris is also a board member of the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council.
Why watch: Morris’ background working with homeland security, Special Operations Command, the Defense Intelligence Agency, DOJ and state and local law enforcement organizations uniquely positions him to continue his two-plus years of leadership in building Attain’s national security presence.
Over the next year, look for Morris to play a key role in Attain’s work with TSA, including the implementation of Splunk as part of TSA’s threat-hunting initiative. He will also be involved in DISA’s adoption of secure web services and cloud migration and efforts around bringing Attain’s capabilities to the FBI and others in the intelligence community.
“During the last 10 years, I have done a lot of work with the bureau and have a good understanding of the landscape,” Morris said. “Attain is a great fit for the FBI, and we are working hard to deliver IT services to the bureau. Its $5 billion follow-on to the current Information Technology Supplies and Support Services contract is under development, so obviously, we are very much focused on that important vehicle for mission-focused IT services and application development.”
Morris is also active on the policy side of government contracting and works to connect consulting and government stakeholders through activities like HSDBC’s “reverse industry days” in which an audience of government procurement and IT professionals listen to a panel of contractors to learn how federal consulting companies and system integrators really work.
“The council also sponsors two- to three-day executive tours a couple of times a year during which we get outside of the Beltway and take business executives and their teams to meet and interact with ongoing law enforcement and homeland security operations,” Morris said.
Matt Tait, ManTech International
He’s spent 10 years in the Navy, led the team that transformed the struggling HealthCare.gov portal, and is now connected with a company whose mission he lives and breathes. As president of ManTech’s Mission Solutions and Services Group, Matt Tait looks to use his 30 years of experience to further the company’s work supporting national security and civilian federal departments and agencies.
Why watch: As the national defense budget expands, Tait’s focus is “bringing digital to the mission” for ManTech’s customers. That focus applies to specific mission requirements in cybersecurity, data collection and analytics, enterprise IT, and systems and software engineering for space support, the defense community and government civilian operations.
He has also issued a challenge to make ManTech the best place to work. Drawing on his Navy background, Tait is using a 360-degree approach to supporting employees. That starts, he said, with building on a culture where leaders care about employees at a level that goes beyond merely how they are performing at work.
“As we move into a place where we’re bringing different technology capabilities and skills to the market, we’re going to be able to bring all these spheres together in a way that I think we’re going to have the environment to be the best place to work,” he said.
Al Whitmore, BAE Systems
Al Whitmore is president of intelligence and security at BAE Systems, where he works toward a mission of expanding the company’s footprint in the professional services market in the wake of an increasing national defense budget. Before joining BAE, Whitmore spent 30 years at General Dynamics Information Technology, rising to senior vice president of the Global Solutions Division.
Why watch: As a high level leader at BAE, Whitmore is involved in the firm’s steady work to procure new tools and systems that align with customer needs and missions — and help government agencies transition to modern processes and systems.
“There is high demand for innovative new solutions in cloud services, cybersecurity, nuclear modernization, command, control and communications, and intelligence automation — and we have the proven track-record, mission understanding and strategic partnerships in place to deliver the best technologies to address these challenges,” Whitmore said.
“In addition, we have put an emphasis on forging new strategic partnerships to bring the commercial-grade solutions our customers want into the defense space. This took a shift in thinking internally, as we realized our customers no longer want specialized, stove-piped proprietary systems built from the ground up with one purpose in mind. Instead, they want agile solutions that can be changed and customized instantly to address emerging challenges, and scaled to handle future needs.”
Whitmore leads BAE’s work on several fronts, including a business that provides the Air Force and Combatant Commands with solutions to help modernize, maintain, test and cyber-harden aircraft, radar, missile systems and missions applications related to national security. He also heads BAE’s work with the Army, Navy and federal civilian customers to provide systems engineering, integration and sustainment services for C4ISR systems and enterprise IT networks.
“Virtually everything BAE Systems touches — be it a vehicle, ship, aircraft, sensor, or IT system — is somehow connected,” Whitmore said. “That is why we are pioneering the next generation of cybersecurity solutions utilizing blockchain and artificial intelligence to make these vehicles and technologies safer, smarter and more resilient to cyberattack.”
John Woods, CACI
With more than three decades’ experience in roles related to homeland security, John Woods is positioned to continue helping lead CACI in its work in the homeland security space. CACI was recently awarded a DHS cybersecurity diagnostics contract.
Why watch: For four consecutive years, CACI was named to The Washington Post’s Top Workplaces in the Large Company category. National security hones in not only on counterterrorism and border protection but also on safeguarding national infrastructure systems, protecting economic systems and caring for the institutions people depend on, Woods said. CACI’s SkyTracker suite of solutions allows government agencies to provide border protection against the malicious use of aerial drones, including the capability of mitigating illicit drug traffic.
