Know a Standout CFO? Nominate Them Today
Who’s really shaping the future of GovCon? Now’s your chance to put their name forward. Nominations are open for the 2026 WashingtonExec Chief Officer Awards, the premier program recognizing the executives in government and industry driving real mission impact. For the second year, WashingtonExec is bringing together the Chief Officer and Pinnacle awards into one
This is Your Chance to Nominate GovCon’s AI Power Players
Who’s really shaping the future of GovCon? Now’s your chance to put their name forward. Nominations are open for the 2026 WashingtonExec Chief Officer Awards, the premier program recognizing the executives in government and industry who are driving real mission impact. For the second year, WashingtonExec is bringing together the Chief Officer and Pinnacle awards
Palo Alto Networks’ Eric Trexler Wins Cybersecurity Exec of the Year Award
Eric Trexler of Palo Alto Networks has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for Cybersecurity Executive of the Year (Public Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by over 500 individuals, took place at
SAIC’s Josh Jackson Wins Chief Officer Award for DOD Executive of the Year
Josh Jackson, executive vice president of SAIC’s Army Business Group, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for DOD Executive of the Year (Private & Public Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by
Top Government IT Leaders Honored at Chief Officer Awards
WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards recently recognized several winners for their public service. The winners are: Gregory Barbaccia, federal chief information officer, Office of Management and Budget Katie Arrington, acting chief information officer, Defense Department Michael Kratsios, assistant to the president for science and technology and 13th director of the White House Office of Science and
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Intelsat’s Michelle Bryan
Michelle Bryan of Intelsat has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for General Counsel or Compliance Executive of the Year (Private & Public Company). In her finalist Q&A, Bryan emphasized the need for corporate attorneys to build positive relationships with as many people as possible. “Along with being astute, be the person in the building with
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Gunnison’s Meaghan Carter
Meaghan Carter of Gunnison has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for General Counsel or Compliance Executive of the Year (Private & Public Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by over 500 individuals,
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winners: Ashley Crouse & Nicole Alley
Ashley Crouse of Amivero and Nicole Alley of MORI Associates have won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards for Executive Assistant of the Year (Private & Public Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Tyto Athene’s Patti Chanthaphone
Patti Chanthaphone of Tyto Athene has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for Cybersecurity Executive of the Year (Private Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by over 500 individuals, took place at The
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: SAIC’s Bob Ritchie
Bob Ritchie of SAIC has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CTO of the Year (Public Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by over 500 individuals, took place at The Hilton in
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Empower AI’s Jennifer Sample
Jennifer Sample, chief technology officer at Empower AI, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CTO of the Year (Private Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by over 500 individuals, took place
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: MetroStar’s Stephanie Haynes
Stephanie Haynes of MetroStar has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CMO or Marketing Executive of the Year (Private & Public Company). In her finalist Q&A, Haynes advocated for surrounding oneself with high performers who will challenge, motivate and push you to grow. “I’m lucky enough to work with exactly that kind of team,” she
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: SPA’s Dave Hearding
Dave Hearding, chief growth officer at Systems Planning & Analysis, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CGO or BD Executive of the Year (Private & Public Company, annual revenue greater than $500M). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: BryceTech’s Jeffrey Mujsce
Jeffrey Mujsce, chief growth officer at BryceTech, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CGO or BD Executive of the Year (Private Company, annual revenue less than $100M). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event,
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Auria’s Pat Collins
Pat Collins, chief growth officer at Auria, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CGO or BD Executive of the Year (Private Company, annual revenue greater than $100M and less than $500M). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Auria’s JD Kuhn
JD Kuhn, chief financial officer of Auria, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CFO of the Year (Annual Revenue Less than $100M) category. On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by over 500
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Mercury Systems’ Bill Ballhaus
Bill Ballhaus, CEO of Mercury Systems, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CEO of the Year (Private & Public Company, annual revenue greater than $500 million). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Siemens Government Technologies’ John Ustica
John Ustica, CEO of Siemens Government Technologies, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CEO of the Year (Public Company, annual revenue greater than $100 million and less than $500 million). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government
ManTech’s Julie Anna Barker Wins Chief Officer Award for HR Exec of the Year
Julie Anna Barker, chief human resources officer at ManTech International, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CHRO or HR Executive of the Year (Public & Private Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: Agile Defense’s Rick Wagner
Rick Wagner, CEO of Agile Defense, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CEO of the Year (Private Company, annual revenue greater than $100 million and less than $500 million). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting.
GSA’s David Shive Recognized with WashingtonExec’s Public Service Award
David Shive receives WashingtonExec’s Public Service Award. David Shive, chief information officer for the General Services Administration, was awarded one of WashingtonExec’s Public Service Awards at this year’s Chief Officer Awards. This award recognizes five federal leaders whose careers reflect what public service is really about: showing up, sticking with the mission and doing the
2025 Chief Officer Awards Winner: ECS’ Daniel Keller
Daniel Keller, vice president of ECS’ service delivery teams, has won WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for Artificial Intelligence Executive of the Year (Public & Private Company). On June 4, WashingtonExec unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. The event, attended by
Bold Leadership Takes Spotlight at 2025 Chief Officer Awards
WashingtonExec on June 4 unveiled the winners of the 2025 Chief Officer Awards, its premier recognition of the executives shaping the future of government contracting. This year, we combined two signature ceremonies into one can’t-miss event celebrating bold, innovative leaders across government and industry. The event took place at The Hilton in McLean, Virginia, where over
Chief Officer Award Winner Bill Ballhaus: ‘It’s the People and Teams Within an Organization that Drive Results’
The winners for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards were announced on June 4, and we’ve been highlighting some of the finalists and winners in spotlight interviews. Next is Bill Ballhaus, chairman and CEO of Mercury Systems, and the winner of WashingtonExec’s CEO of the Year (Annual Revenue Greater than $500M). In this spotlight, he reflects on
Never miss a 2025 Chief Officer Awards story.
Our latest executive profiles, council news, and GovCon headlines — every morning.