For Chief Officer Award Finalist Alex Bender, Great MarCom Starts Before the Deliverable
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
Chief Officer Award Finalist Debbie De La O: ‘I’m Always Thinking About Practical Solutions’
Whether she’s helping build better networks for soldiers around the world or writing out a business plan, Debbie De La O embraces her own curiosity with an eye toward making life better, easier or more meaningful. As vice president within Leidos Digital Modernization, De La O is a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards in
Chief Officer Award Finalist David Popelier: ‘We Never Lose Sight of What’s Important’
As CEO of a company dedicated to national security missions, David Popelier says it’s imperative to never lose sight of that mission and the employees who support it. Popelier leads ATS and is a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards in the Private Company (annual revenue greater than $100 million and less than $500 million)
Chief Officer Awards Finalist Jonathan Dalrymple: ‘We Have More Than Doubled Operating Profit’
When Jonathan Dalrymple became CEO of Chugach Alaska Corp. in 2025, he wasn’t content to continue with business as usual. Instead, Dalrymple reoriented Chugach toward long-term operational resilience, aligning leadership around a 5-year roadmap focused on unifying the enterprise and strengthening its future. Operating profit more than doubled over 24 months. In the spotlight below,
Chief Officer Awards Finalist Raj Badhwar on Going Public, Securing AI
He’s written seven books on IT security, holds over a dozen technology patents and leads teams in architecting secure infrastructures in an era defined by expanding attack surfaces. Raj Badhwar, chief information officer of Systems Planning & Analysis, is also a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards in the Private & Public Company CIO of
For Chief Officer Awards Finalist Dr. Curtis Arnold, Success is Measured in People, Not Projects
For Dr. Curtis Arnold, success is less about delivering projects and more about developing the next generation of leaders. Whether he’s grilling burgers for a crowd of students or mentoring interns at work, Arnold believes in applying both technical and people skills in ways that directly impact others for better. Arnold, vice president and chief
Chief Officer Awards Finalist Mark Drever: ‘If You Work With Me, I Need to Trust You With My Life’
As CEO of one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies, Mark Drever says the mission is “straightforward but vital: helping to keep this country safe.” Drever leads Xcelerate Solutions and is a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards in the Private Company (annual revenue greater than $100 million and less than $500 million) CEO of
Chief Officer Awards Finalist Chad Kim: ‘Nothing is Hard. Just New.’
Chad Kim believes you learn who people really are when things get uncomfortable — whether riding 30 miles together before sunrise or navigating a 43-day government shutdown without furloughing employees. Kim is CEO of B/CORE and a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards in the Private Company (annual revenue less than $100 million) CEO of
Chief Officer Awards Finalist Dr. Rod Fontecilla on Embedding AI in Everything
A beginner’s mind and the capacity for accepting change are crucial to success in today’s AI-driven transformation landscape, according to Dr. Rod Fontecilla. Fontecilla, chief innovation and AI officer at Revolutional, is a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards in the Private & Public Company Artificial Intelligence Executive of the Year category. The event takes
How Chief Officer Awards Finalist Adam DeJulio Navigated CMMC, DCSA & the AI Policy Frontier
When Adam DeJulio joined Epoch Concepts as general counsel, the job description already spanned legal, compliance and cybersecurity. Then the regulatory environment got more complicated. Over the past year, he steered the company through a CMMC Level 2 assessment and a DCSA audit while standing up a new enterprise security program and drafting AI use
Chief Officer Awards Finalist Cedric George on Solving Problems That Matter
Cedric George has spent decades in environments where a bad decision — or a slow one — can cost lives. As a retired major general, he knows what it looks like when maintenance crews are working blind in confined spaces, cut off from the information they need, relying on manual processes that weren’t built for
Chief Officer Awards Finalist Tom Mahoney on Elevating Cyber Marketing Strategy
As cybersecurity challenges grow more complex, mission-driven marketing becomes increasingly critical, and leaders like Tom Mahoney are helping shape how GovCon engages with the federal market. As vice president of marketing at Optiv + ClearShark, Mahoney is aligning strategy, innovation and execution to support government customers navigating today’s threat landscape. Mahoney is a finalist for
Chief Officer Awards Finalist Tammy Czarnecki Links Exec Work to Patient Safety
Tammy Czarnecki understands that healthcare staffing, and the systems that support it, are directly tied to patient safety. As executive vice president for health services at Aptive, Czarnecki supports the organization’s work on crisis hotlines, patient records modernization, staff credentialing and more — all while maintaining her clinical licensing as a registered nurse. Czarnecki is
For Chief Officer Awards Finalist Shane Barney, Science & History Taught Adaptation
Cybersecurity is a moving target where analysis, pattern recognition and the ability to adapt quickly can make or break an organization. For Keeper Security’s Shane Barney, success is about consciously mapping those skills — which he developed studying history, biology and chemistry — onto his current role. Barney is a finalist for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer
Never miss a 2026 Chief Officer Awards Finalists story.
Our latest executive profiles, council news, and GovCon headlines — every morning.