AeroVironment's new CFO, COO and more leadership moves across the market

AeroVironment

The defense technology company has made one promotion and one hire to its C-level executive team following the integration of BlueHalo and acquisition of ESAero.

Sean Woodward will move up to chief financial officer on May 1 after 15 years at AeroVironment and succeed Kevin McDonnell, who previously announced his plans to step down after six years in the role.

Woodward most recently worked as CFO for AeroVironment’s autonomous systems segment and is a 22-year industry veteran. His career also includes roles at General Dynamics and Honeywell Aerospace.

Amid that transition, Dr. Robert “Bob” Smith joined AeroVironment on Monday (today) as chief operating officer and brings two decades of experience to the role.

Smith most recently worked at RTX’s Raytheon segment as vice president of radio frequency solutions, which houses that company’s radar and electronic warfare portfolios.

He also spent 12 years at Lockheed Martin.

22nd Century Technologies

Richard Forsht has moved up to senior vice president of federal services at the IT and communication systems integrator, a role he brings 35 years of public sector experience to.

Forsht will also work as head of the 22nd Century Networks business unit, which was formed via the parent company’s acquisition of BT Group’s federal operations in January.

He joined 22nd Century in the spring of 2025 after 14 years in government, including leadership roles at the General Services Administration and Defense Information Systems Agency.

BlueAlly

Sean Robertson has joined the managed IT and professional services provider as senior vice president of federal, a role he brings three decades of market experience to.

BlueAlly’s tech priority areas for the federal landscape include IT infrastructure, network automation, artificial intelligence, data platforms, tactical mobility and cybersecurity.

Robertson most recently worked as vice president of sales for U.S. defense at Cisco.

Chaos Industries

Allison Kerzner has joined the maker of counter-drone and communication technologies as chief people officer, a role she brings 15 years of tech industry experience to.

Kerzner most recently worked as vice president of people at Anduril. Her career also includes roles at Motional, Aptiv and NuTonomy.

In November, Chaos closed a $510 million Series D capital raise to support its manufacturing capacity expansion push.

Cognition

Justin Herman has joined the artificial intelligence software developer to lead the federal civilian go-to-market team, a role he brings 23 years of public sector experience to.

“For the first time, government agencies now have access to world-leading autonomous AI software engineering relied on by the most complex and highly regulated companies, tools that can map legacy codebases, document what was never documented, migrate what was never migrated, and do it at a speed and scale no traditional approach can match,” Herman wrote in a LinkedIn post on his new role.

Herman most recently worked as a vice president at ServiceNow’s public sector arm. Prior to that, he served as a technology leader at the General Services Administration.

Document Storage Systems

Chris Jackson has moved up to vice president of growth at SBG Technology Solutions, a subsidiary of DSS that focuses on general IT and professional services work in the government landscape.

Jackson first joined SBG in 2025 and now will guide efforts to expand its engineering, IT, cybersecurity and software development portfolios. DSS cites Jackson’s background as including 10 years of federal IT experience and 20 years in the commercial sector.

DSS acquired SBG in 2021 to add an enterprise IT footing viewed as complementary to the buyer’s historical core of health IT work.

Everpure

Katherine Hennessey has joined the data storage hardware and software developer as head of U.S. government strategy, a role she brings 25 years of experience to.

Everpure has tasked Hennessey with leading its go-to-market strategy across the federal, state and local government verticals.

She most recently worked as head of government services at NightDragon, a late-stage venture capital firm focused on national security and defense.

IonQ

Jordan Shapiro has moved into an expanded role as president of its quantum platform organization after previously leading its networking, sensing and security unit.

“This next chapter is an opportunity to continue building IonQ as a full-spectrum quantum technology platform—integrating networking, sensing, security, and space into a coherent, end-to-end ecosystem,” Shapiro wrote in a LinkedIn post on his new role.

He first joined IonQ in the fall of 2020 as a vice president. His career also includes stops at Samsung and Intuit.

Lentech

Mike Majarov has moved up to chief innovation and IT officer at the employee-owned technology and professional services provider, which he first joined in 2009.

Lentech has tasked Majarov with overseeing its technology vision, which includes agentic artificial intelligence and efforts in space systems engineering. Cloud computing, cybersecurity and digital solutions remain core focus areas for Lentech.

Majarov’s three-decade career in industry also includes roles at Savvis and Gray Hawk Systems.

Microsoft

Steve Faehl has moved up to chief technology officer for U.S. public sector industries at the global software giant, which he first joined in 2014.

“I look forward to continuing to serve our public sector clients and working with teams across Microsoft as we build cyber-informed and AI-enabled solutions to transform government, education, and work,” Faehl wrote in a LinkedIn post on his new role.

Faehl most recently worked as U.S. government security leader for Microsoft.

Omni and T2S Solutions

Eric Grein has joined both of these Madison Dearborn Partners-owned technology contractors as vice president of corporate development and strategy after a decade in investment banking at Jefferies and Wells Fargo.

“Each platform is distinct, but unified by a common mission: delivering differentiated capabilities in support of critical national security needs across mission systems, advanced integration, and modern software,” Grein wrote in a LinkedIn post on his new role.

MDP acquired the tech research outfit T2S in 2023, then purchased the defense software integrator Omni in 2024.

PE Systems

Beth Skoletsky has joined the provider of technical, engineering and professional services as chief human resources officer after nearly three decades at other contractors.

Skoletsky’s prior CHRO roles in the market included stops at Ultra Intelligence & Communications, Constellis and WBB.

She also worked in senior HR roles at Engility Corp. and L3 Technologies.

Pyramid Systems

Meg Coker has joined the digital transformation company as chief growth officer, a role she brings three decades of market experience to.

“My focus will be accelerating growth through strategic partnerships, expanding our presence across key agencies, and aligning innovation in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity to real mission outcomes,” Coker wrote in a LinkedIn post on her new role.

Coker most recently worked at Palo Alto Networks as senior director for public sector business development, capture and field strategy.

Ridgeline International

Wes Postol has joined this data security company’s System High Corp. subsidiary as executive vice president of strategic growth, a role he brings two decades of market experience to.

Postol will be responsible for System High’s functions in business development, pipeline monitoring, proposal and capture. He most recently worked as a vice president at Red River.

Ridgeline combined with System High business in early 2025 after both operated as separate entities within the Enlightenment Capital portfolio.

Senture

Michelle Paiz has joined the U.S. government-focused subsidiary of Teleperformance as president, a role she brings two decades of industry experience to.

Paiz previously worked for 13 years at Maximus, where her mot recent role was vice president of citizen engagement.

Teleperformance is the France-headquartered business process outsourcing company that acquired Senture for $400 million in 2021 from Kingswood Capital Management, a private equity firm.

Turion Space

Dr. Mike Gabor has joined the space debris tracking software developer as senior vice president of business development, a role he brings three decades of industry experience to.

Turion’s network of backers includes Washington Harbour Partners, which entered this investment in the spring of 2025. The company is also one of 14 awardees on a potential 10-year, $1.8 billion Space Force contract announced Friday that focuses on space domain awareness tech.

Gabor most recently worked as vice president of BD at Millennium Space Systems, Boeing’s small satellite subsidiary. His career also includes roles at Northrop Grumman, Maxar, Odyssey Systems and TASC.

Valkyrie Enterprises

Joyner Livingston has joined the engineering services and technology solutions provider as senior vice president of its mission solutions business unit, a role he brings 23 years of market experience to.

Valkyrie has tasked Livingston with leading the unit’s program delivery and business development functions.

Livingston retired from Army service in 2024 and subsequently joined Science Applications International Corp. to help lead engineering and analysis departments that focused on tactical and training systems. Most recently, he led digital transformation strategy efforts at Deloitte.

Voyager Technologies

Joseph “Gus” Guastella, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and former operations director for its Space Command, has joined the defense and space systems company as executive vice president of national security.

Voyager has tasked Guastella with helping position the company for future opportunities in space while supporting efforts related to Starlab, Voyager’s concept for replacing the International Space Station.

In his role at Air Force Space Command, he led the integration of space technologies and systems into military operations.

RTI International

Robert P. “Bob” Ashley, a retired Army lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has joined the board of trustees at the nonprofit science and research organization.

The 36-year military veteran led DIA from 2017 until his retirement in 2020. He is also a former Army deputy chief of staff for intelligence.

Ashley moves into the formerly held by John Moellering, a fellow retired Army lieutenant general who recently retired from RTI’s board.

Science Applications International Corp.

Paul Eremenko and Michael Rogers have joined SAIC’s board of directors, which grows from 11 members to 13 with their appointments.

Both are independent members and will sit on both the audit committee and technology committee.

Eremenko is a veteran of Airbus and United Technologies Corp., while Rogers is a retired Navy admiral who led the National Security Agency and Cyber Command from 2014 to 2018.

TPG

William McRaven, the retired Navy admiral and former Special Operations Command leader, will join the board of directors at this global publicly-traded investment firm on May 1.

TPG's holdings in the government market include the cybersecurity outfit Everfox, which the firm acquired in 2023, as well as a partial stake in the supply chain risk intelligence software firm Sayari.

McRaven is also a member of the board at ConocoPhillips.