A pair of CEO transitions and more leadership moves across the market

Scout Space

Josiah Gruber has been promoted to CEO at this specialist in observation data and other vision solutions, where he worked as chief technology officer for the past year.

Gruber first joined Scout Space in 2023 as an engineer before his promotion to vice president of engineering in the following year. He succeeds Philip Hover-Smoot, who led Scout Space as CEO since January 2024 prior to this transition.

Scout Space’s strategy centers around providing plug-and-play vision products to enhance space systems and bolster overall domain awareness. Noblis’ corporate venture arm is an investor in Scout Space.

Sincerus Global Solutions

Jason Biber, formerly president of this international development-focused company since May, has been promoted to chief executive and will succeed Tony Smeraglinolo as the latter moves over to chairman of the board of directors.

Biber has been part of Sincerus’ leadership team since its inception in 2020, when the business separated from its then-parent Science Applications International Corp. Sincerus also traces its lineage to Engility Corp. and MPRI before that.

Biber previously worked as Sincerus’ chief financial and chief operating officer before he became president. As chairman, Smeraglinolo will continue to provide strategic oversight and remain involved in Sincerus’ long-term priorities.

Accenture Federal Services

Bharat Patel has joined this subsidiary of the professional services company as managing director and artificial intelligence missions lead for its defense and intelligence segment, a role he brings two decades of experience to.

Patel most recently served as a civilian official in the Army and led its Project Linchpin initiative, which seeks to deliver AI capabilities across the service branch’s programs.

His career also includes leadership over studies and prototyping efforts for intelligence systems and analytics, plus the Army’s implementation of the Project Maven data initiative at certain theater locations.

Acentra Health

Patty Obermaier has joined the technology solutions provider as chief growth officer to lead its business development, marketing and product management functions.

Obermaier will also hold an executive vice president title at Acentra Health, which blends tech integration work with clinical knowledge to aid in care management and quality oversight.

The three-decade tech sector veteran most recently worked at Microsoft as chief growth officer for its global health and life sciences portfolio. She helped lead the integration of Nuance into the tech giant’s field organization. Her career also includes roles at IQVIA and Unisys.

Within the GovCon sphere, Obermaier is a member of the board of directors at both ECS Federal’s parent company ASGN Inc. and Applied Information Sciences.

Ad Hoc Research

Dawna Morningstar has joined the systems engineering company as vice president of growth, a role she brings two decades of experience at Lockheed Martin to.

Pritesh Patel, founder and CEO of Ad Hoc Research, touted Morningstar’s background in program management and enterprise strategy in a LinkedIn post announcing her hire.

Morningstar most recently worked as director of next-generation solutions at Lockheed, and before that as a strategy and program manager.

AeroVironment

Milancy Harris has joined the defense technology company as chief security officer and will also hold the title of vice president there.

She most recently served as acting defense undersecretary for intelligence and security, following a stint as deputy defense undersecretary for intelligence and security. Prior to that, she served as deputy assistant defense secretary for irregular warfare and counterterrorism.

Her private sector career also includes a stint at Meta, where she helped operationalize its oversight board and worked as chief of staff for the panel.

Alpha Omega

Gordon Boozer has joined the digital modernization and enterprise IT company as vice president of cybersecurity, a role he brings 26 years of public sector experience to.

He will oversee Alpha Omega’s work with agencies on the system and infrastructure protection aspects of their digital transformation efforts. He will also lead the development of a cyber community of practice at Alpha Omega.

Boozer most recently worked as an enterprise security architect at Peraton. His career in the private sector also includes roles at NTT Data’s federal arm, Gunnison Consulting Group and OBXtek.

Arch Systems LLC

Narayan Srinivasa has joined the digital transformation and human-centered design services provider as chief artificial intelligence scientist, a role he brings three decades of experience to.

“I will be leading the next wave of AI innovation across the company — advancing multimodal AI systems, architecting robust and explainable AI frameworks, and translating cutting-edge AI research into scalable and secure federal deployments,” Srinivasa wrote in a LinkedIn post on his new role.

He most recently worked as director of machine intelligence research programs at Intel’s labs organization. His career also includes 17 years at HRL Laboratories.

ASRC Federal

Kimberly Parker has joined the government services company as senior vice president of procurement, a role she brings 25 years of experience to from Fortune 500 and mid-tier companies.

She most recently worked as senior director of procurement at Battelle and before that held executive roles at SOS International and Applied Insight.

Her career also includes positions at Leidos, Science Applications International Corp. and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Firefly Aerospace

Ramon Sanchez will join the launch and space systems manufacturer as chief operating officer on Dec. 22, roughly four months after its initial public offering and two months after its $855 million acquisition of SciTec.

Sanchez most recently spent 25 years at Boeing with the last three of them as senior director of operations for space, intelligence and weapons systems. Now at Firefly, he will help lead its production scaling push in addition to day-to-day functions such as collaboration across teams.

Dan Fermon stepped down from the COO post at Firefly on Dec. 6, according to a regulatory filing. He previously held that role for three years.

Oasys International

Geoff Crowe has joined the technology and professional services provider as chief growth officer, a role he brings two decades of experience to.

Oasys’ LinkedIn post on the hire cites Crowe’s experience in business development, capture strategy and industry partnerships.

Crowe most recently worked as chief growth officer at ITC Federal, where he spent the last 12 years at.

JSI, also known as John Snow Inc.

Susan Longley has joined the nonprofit organization as executive vice president for its health services division, a role she brings two decades of experience to.

She most recently worked as a senior vice president at Abt Associates and joined that company in 2023 as a VP following 17 years at Booz Allen Hamilton.

JSI works with government agencies, private sector entities, and local nonprofit and civil society organizations on challenges related to public health and education.

Sabel Systems

John Cunningham has joined the research-and-development specialist as chief growth officer, a role he brings three-decade of defense and high-tech experience to.

His appointment to Sabel’s C-level executive team follows the March hire of Shawn Purvis as chief executive, following her three-year tenure as CEO of QinetiQ US.

Cunningham most recently worked as president at Virtualware, a virtual reality software provider, and is a former leader of Unity Technologies’ government business.

Sky Solutions

Niranjan Santhamoorthy has joined the IT solutions provider as a vice president with responsibility over its healthcare portfolio.

The 25-year federal and state health veteran most recently worked as chief technology officer at OptumServe Technology Services, a public sector-focused unit of the health services giant.

Sky Solutions also touts Santhamoorthy as maintaining a personal innovation lab that currently involves 50 active tech projects.

Systems Planning & Analysis

Mark Adams has joined the technical services provider as chief capability officer, a role that involves integrating artificial intelligence tools into the portfolio.

Adams will lead SPA’s company-wide capability strategy and help guide how its 3,000 employees on defense and national security programs.

He most recently worked as a vice president at the Peraton Labs organization and is an 11-year veteran of Northrop Grumman.

Unissant

Alka Bhave has joined the digital transformation provider as chief operating officer, approximately 18 months after former Array CEO Sumeet Shrivastava became chief executive.

Bhave will work with Shrivastava to continue building up the company’s operations and delivery functions for this phase of its strategy.

A 25-year industry veteran, Bhave most recently worked as president of Fearless Digital and led its push to grow the defense portfolio. She is also a former chief operations officer for Riverside Research and held senior roles at Perspecta.

Xenith Solutions

Mark Coleman has joined the defense- and homeland security-focused technology integrator as chief growth officer, a role he brings three decades of industry experience to.

His responsibilities at Xenith include oversight of its business development, capture, proposals and marketing functions amid the company’s push into full-and-open work.

Coleman most recently worked as executive vice president of strategic capture at Precise Systems. His career also includes senior roles at Parsons Corp. and QRC Technologies.

SES Space & Defense

Joanne Isham, a former senior leader in the intelligence community, has joined the board of directors at the satellite network operator’s subsidiary focused on the U.S. government vertical.

Isham’s career in government includes service as deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, plus deputy director for science and technology at NGA.

She went on to hold senior roles in private industry after leaving government including at BAE Systems, High Performance Technologies Inc. and L-1 Identity Solutions.

Wesco International

Dave Wajsgras, the former Intelsat chief executive, will join the board of directors at this supply chain and logistics technology company on Jan. 1.

Wajsgras led Intelsat through a transition to becoming a provider of multi-orbit managed services through its satellite network. Intelsat was acquired by SES in July.

He joined the HawkEye 360 board of directors in August, and is a member of the boards at Parsons Corp. and Martin Marietta Materials. His long career in the market includes senior roles at Raytheon.