Finalists Announced for First Annual WashingtonExec Chief Officer Awards

WashingtonExec, along with presenting sponsor Amentum, announced today the finalists for its Chief Officer Awards, which recognize the most impactful and innovative executives in government and industry sitting in the C-suite.

The awards aim to fill a gap in the market of showcasing the technologists, security experts and business leaders making waves in government contracting from both sides of the sector.

Rather than highlighting CEOs, who often see the spotlight, the Chief Officer Awards seeks to find the chief data officers, chief information security officers, chief operating officers and others leading their organizations with innovation, expertise and thought leadership.

"We are proud to be celebrating and honoring this group of high-caliber executives at this unique event," said WashingtonExec founder and CEO JD Kathuria. "These are the innovators and change makers who work tirelessly to drive real transformation in government, today and for years to come. Each of them deserves an eloge for his or her contributions to public service and for improving government."

The main awards will recognize CIOs, COOs, CMOs, CFOs, CTOs and CISOs from public companies, private companies and government agencies. Outside of that, a special Lifetime Achievement award will be presented to Booz Allen Hamilton Chief Innovation Officer Susan Penfield for her work seeding next-generation businesses including in secure operational technology, artificial intelligence, directed energy, and digital solutions.

The full list of categories and finalists is included below. The winners will be announced and recognized during a virtual event on June 17 at 11:30am.

Everwatch CEO John Hillen will serve as master of ceremonies and Judges include Serco Board Director Pamela Drew, Former Alion Science and Technology COO Sid Fuchs and Thompson Reuters Board Member Doug Wagoner.

Public Company

Chief Information Officer

Chris Bjornson, Accenture Federal Services
Mike Uster, ManTech
John Lambeth, MAXIMUS
James Benton, PAE

Chief Operating Officer

Brian Sandager, Cerner
Kevin Paschuck, Salesforce
Alan Bloodgood, Siemens Government Technologies

Chief Financial Officer

Lloyd Howell, Booz Allen Hamilton
Alison Harbrecht, GDIT
Judy Bjornaas, ManTech
Charlie Peiffer, PAE
John Ustica, Siemens Government Technologies

Chief Marketing/Communications Officer

Matt Maurer, ICF
Roela Santos, SAIC

Chief Human Resources Officer

Jeff Brody, ManTech
Tammy Heller, Perspecta
Dan Almasy, Raytheon
Lindsay Weissbratten, Siemens Government Technologies

Chief Technology Officer

Gil Tadmor, DLH Corp
Tommy Gardner, HP Federal
David Egts, Red Hat, North America Public Sector
Charles Onstott, SAIC

Chief Growth Officer

Craig Reed, Serco Inc.
Teri Hamlin, Siemens Government Technologies

Private Company

CISO

Brian Neely, AMERICAN SYSTEMS
Phil Richards, Ivanti

Chief Operating Officer

Mike Cuccia, AllCom Global Services
Dennis Kelly, Centauri
Charles Beard, Guidehouse
Jeremy Wensinger, Peraton
John Avalos, SOSi

Chief Financial Officer

Jake Kennedy, Amentum
David Adams, CNSI
Debbie Ricci, Guidehouse
Chuck Hicks, NCI
Kathie Powers, Riverside Research
Bruce Crowell, SOSi

Chief Technology Officer

Srini Singaraju, Akima
Vishal Rajpara, Casepoint
Jeff Gallimore, Excella
Allen Badeau, NCI

Chief Growth Officer

Chris Blahm, E3/Sentinel
Erin Horrell, Intelligent Waves LLC
Bridget Medeiros, NCI
Mike King, Peraton

Government

Chief Acquisition Officer

Harrison Smith, Internal Revenue Service

Chief Information Officer

James Gferer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Elizabeth Cappello, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Jose Arrieta, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Maria Roat, Small Business Administration

Chief Data Officer

Teresa Smith, Defense Logistics Agency
Nancy Morgan, ODNI
Austin Gerig, Securities Exchange Commission
Eileen Vidrine, U.S. Air Force, Department of Defense
Michael Conlin, U.S. Department of Defense

Chief Technology Officer

Melonie Cannon, Department of State
Robert Brown, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS)

CISO

Garth White, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology
Bo Berlas, U.S. General Services Administration / GSA IT

About WashingtonExec

Established in 2011, WashingtonExec is a private membership organization that provides a single platform to build trusted relationships over the course of an entire career. WashingtonExec has over 300 Executive Members that participate in 12 private mission-oriented council groups and hosts over 100 private events annually in the D.C. Area. In addition to events, WashingtonExec publishes a daily digital magazine that reaches 20,000 subscribers that are predominately executives in the National Capital Area.