Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: MetroStar’s Ali Reza Manouchehri
Ali Reza Manouchehri CEO & Co-Founder, MetroStar Ali Reza Manouchehri’s most significant recent achievement is leading MetroStar’s evolution into an AI-enabled solutions provider focused on measurable mission outcomes. Over the past 24 months, the company moved beyond pilots and proofs of concept to operationalizing AI and automation across key Defense Department and intelligence community programs.
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Babel Street’s Benji Hutchinson
Benji Hutchinson CEO, Babel Street Benji Hutchinson’s most significant recent achievement was leading the Babel Street team in unifying the traditionally siloed risk domains of identity screening, vendor monitoring and threat tracking into a single, AI-native risk intelligence platform. This platform approach reflects the reality that modern adversaries do not operate in a single domain,
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Maximus’ Bruce Caswell
Bruce Caswell President & CEO, Maximus Building on a year defined by heightened expectations and opportunity, Bruce Caswell said the company enters 2026 with strong momentum as a trusted, technology-driven partner to government. “In 2025, our teams met extraordinary demand with focus, tenacity and innovation,” he said. “We strengthened our position as a partner government
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: SES Space and Defense’s David Broadbent
David Broadbent President & CEO, SES Space and Defense David Broadbent’s most recent achievement was leading the successful integration of SES and Intelsat’s government and defense businesses following the close of the $3.1 billion merger. The integration has already resulted in contract wins with the U.S. Army, the Defense Department and the U.S. Space Force.
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Harmonia Holdings Group’s Damon Griggs
Damon Griggs CEO & Chairman, Harmonia Holdings Group In 2025, Harmonia welcomed Maveris into its portfolio and completed the integration of both organizations within the year. Despite significant challenges in the federal civilian and health markets, including budget reductions and a government shutdown, the company achieved strong organic growth by prioritizing customers and driving innovation
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Optiv + ClearShark’s Dan Wilbricht
Dan Wilbricht President, Optiv + ClearShark Dan Wilbricht’s most significant recent achievement was leading Optiv + ClearShark through a pivotal growth period in 2025, including achieving Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification and strengthening the company’s role as a trusted partner to federal agencies. During that time, the company expanded its mission-focused service offerings and deepened its
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Tyto Athene’s Dennis Kelly
Dennis Kelly CEO, Tyto Athene Dennis Kelly led Tyto Athene through a pivotal year of transformation, rebranding the company while simultaneously investing in differentiated technologies that deliver lasting value to customers. In 2025, Tyto Athene strengthened its innovation portfolio through the acquisition of stackArmor, accelerating its cloud security and compliance capabilities. It also launched TALON,
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Aperio Global’s Earl Stafford Jr.
Earl Stafford Jr. CEO, Aperio Global Earl Stafford Jr.’s most significant recent achievement was leading Aperio Global’s evolution from a traditional services firm into a cognitive infrastructure company focused on decision advantage. The company formalized its Cognitive Layer Framework to ensure data is governed, secured and contextualized before reaching decision-makers. This evolution positions Aperio to
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Amazon Web Services’ Dave Levy
Dave Levy VP, Worldwide Public Sector and Healthcare and Life Sciences, Amazon Web Services Dave Levy is particularly proud of his team’s role in the recent announcement that AWS will invest up to $50 billion to build the first-ever AI and high-performance computing infrastructure for U.S. government customers. This investment enables government agencies to achieve
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Alpha Omega’s Gautam Ijoor
Gautam Ijoor Founder and CEO, Alpha Omega One of Gautam Ijoor’s most significant accomplishments in 2025 was leading Alpha Omega through a period of strategic reinvention and expansion. The company completed the acquisitions of Macro Solutions LLC and SeKON LLC, strengthening its position as a national security and technology solutions provider and accelerating its ability
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Groundswell’s George Batsakis
George Batsakis CEO, Groundswell In George Batsakis’ current role, the biggest recent achievement has been launching a new generation of commercial-first, purpose-built products designed specifically for federal missions. Groundswell focuses on adapting proven commercial capabilities into fit-for-federal SaaS solutions that accelerate adoption while maintaining security, compliance and mission integrity. The real success is seeing agencies
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Two Six Technologies’ Jill Daley
Jill Daley Vice President, Two Six Technologies Jill Daley’s most significant recent achievement was leading the strategic expansion of Two Six’s prime General Services Administration Federal Systems Integration and Management Center Small Business Innovation Research contract. Her work secured a $200 million ceiling increase and nearly doubled the company’s capacity to deliver products and capabilities
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Gunnison’s Gil Dussek
Gil Dussek CEO, Gunnison Gil Dussek’s biggest recent achievement was working alongside his team to deliver transformational contract awards that create new opportunities for employees while bringing best-in-class Gunnison capabilities to customers and their missions. “It’s not our job as leaders to appeal to the lowest common denominator,” Dussek said. “It’s our job to raise
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: AMERICAN SYSTEMS’ John Steckel
John Steckel President & CEO, AMERICAN SYSTEMS John Steckel’s most significant recent achievement was AMERICAN SYSTEMS’ acquisition of Epsilon Inc. in August 2025. The acquisition added over 400 employee-owners to the company and expanded its capabilities in advanced digital transformation strategies and proactive data infrastructure management. Through the acquisition, AMERICAN SYSTEMS now offers specialized services
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Amentum’s John Heller
John Heller CEO, Amentum John Heller said he’s immensely proud to have led Amentum through its first successful year as an integrated public company. In a short period, the company established itself as an advanced engineering and technology leader across critical global markets, including nuclear energy, space exploration, missile defense and critical digital infrastructure. Throughout
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Siemens Government Technologies’ John Ustica
John Ustica President & CEO, Siemens Government Technologies John Ustica’s biggest recent achievement was winning WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Award for CEO of the Year in 2025. “This was a great recognition for our team’s success. Everyone knows CEOs don’t do it alone, so this was an amazing win for our team,” Ustica said. In terms
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: ICF’s John Wasson
John Wasson Chair & CEO, ICF John Wasson’s biggest recent achievement was supporting the launch of several new solutions that directly address the evolving needs of ICF’s clients. In 2025, ICF achieved major milestones in how it innovates across its markets in meaningful ways, particularly through technology and AI. “Most notably, we built ICF Fathom,
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Ultra I&C’s Jon Rucker
Jon Rucker CEO, Ultra I&C Ultra I&C continues to deliver breakthrough innovation, positioning the team to bring essential technology to key customers this year. The company secured major contracts in missile defense and counter-UAS and established an MOU to develop encryption for Five Eyes and NATO partners. Ultra I&C is now providing its Archer system
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Command Holdings’ Jon Panamaroff
Jon Panamaroff CEO, Command Holdings, a Pequot Company Over the past year, Jon Panamaroff focused on preserving and strengthening a company culture rooted in flexibility, growth and opportunity. As Command Holdings continued to scale within a complex and evolving government environment, the company remained intentional about putting people first, supporting professional growth while maintaining the
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Arcfield’s Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly Chairman and CEO, Arcfield A seasoned leader with decades of experience in the defense and intelligence sectors, Kevin Kelly has consistently demonstrated an ability to steer Arcfield toward innovation and measurable impact. He has made the Industry Executives to Watch list for the fifth consecutive year. Under his leadership, Arcfield grew from a
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: LMI’s Josh Wilson
Josh Wilson CEO, LMI In 2025, LMI delivered double-digit growth in one of the most challenging years the industry has faced because LMI was already positioned for the shift the new administration demanded: commercial-grade solutions, rapid delivery, and real contractor accountability, said Josh Wilson. Anticipating that moment, Wilson expanded and reoriented LMI’s CTO organization to
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: ERT’s Mark Lee
Mark Lee CEO, ERT Over the past year, Mark Lee oversaw accelerated development of ERT’s capabilities in AI and machine learning, cloud and digital engineering, alongside a focused expansion into defense and national security markets. He also aligned the executive team around a unified operating strategy that brings ground-to-space mission solutions into a cohesive, market-ready
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Chugach Government Solutions’ Laine Klein
Laine Klein President, Chugach Government Solutions, LLC Laine Klein’s biggest achievement will be establishing strong alignment, clarity and execution as president of Chugach Government Solutions while positioning the company for its next phase of growth. Since joining the CGS team, Klein is focused on listening to employees and customers, strengthening leadership cadence, and implementing data-driven
Top Industry Execs to Watch in 2026: Sigma Defense’s Matt Jones
Matt Jones President and CEO, Sigma Defense In 2025, Sigma Defense expanded sales of Olympus, its software mobility platform, and aligned that growth with several major prime wins spanning air, land and sea, from the data center to the tactical edge. Heading into 2026, the focus is on scaling what Sigma does best: delivering resilient
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