Tech, finance and growth leadership moves across the market

Agile Space Industries

Jake Mills has joined this maker of rocket engines and other in-space propulsion systems as chief technology officer, a role he brings two decades of space industry experience to.

Mills will lead Agile Space’s engineering activities and efforts to shape its technical vision. His career includes leadership roles at Florida Turbine Technologies and Blue Origin.

Along with Mills, Agile Space also announced its board of directors has elected Mark Pasquale as a new member. He is a four-decade space industry veteran and former Lockheed Martin executive.

In February, Agile Space closed a $17 million Series A equity capital raise. Lockheed Martin’s venture arm is continuing its involvement after having led a financing round for Agile Space in 2024.

Hermeus

Sameer Rao has joined the venture-backed hypersonic aircraft maker as chief financial officer, a role he brings three decades of experience to from various industries.

Rao most recently worked as CFO for 10 years at Enevate Corp., an electric vehicle battery manufacturer that ceased operations in the spring. His career also includes financial leadership roles at MaxLinear and Broadcom.

Hermeus completed a $350 million Series C capital round in the spring that involved RTX Ventures and In-Q-Tel, respectively the venture arms of the defense giant and intelligence community.

HII

Michael DeBernardis has joined the shipbuilder and tech integrator as vice president and chief counsel for its mission technologies segment, a role he brings two decades of legal experience to.

He will lead the delivery of legal services for the segment and advise senior leadership on matters related to law.

DeBernardis most recently was managing partner in the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP.

KBR’s government segment

Daniel Dant has moved up to vice president of strategic initiatives at this business, which he first joined in 2023 as a senior director.

This is part of a larger reorganization at KBR to shape and position itself for work on Golden Dome, the Trump administration’s envisioned missile defense system. KBR is one of many companies with a seat on SHIELD, the Missile Defense Agency’s multiple-award vehicle focused on Golden Dome.

Dant, a 26-year Air Force veteran and former space policy director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, will lead pursuits of Golden Dome opportunities. Jay Lennon, president of the KBR government segment’s defense and intelligence division, will oversee the company’s Golden Dome strategy.

KBR is in the process of spinning off the government segment into an independent, publicly-traded company with Jan. 4 as the intended completion date.

ManTech

Eric Brown has moved over to chief product officer at the technology integrator, which he rejoined in 2022 and more recently was its chief innovation officer for three years.

ManTech’s LinkedIn post on his new position describes the responsibilities as leading its “development of dual-use platforms and products, building upon the strong foundation of heritage ManTech offerings and augmented most recently by the Elder Research acquisition.”

Brown is in the midst of a second stint at ManTech, having also worked there as vice president of advanced cyber solutions for two years until he joined Microsoft in 2020 as vice president of mission platform engineering.

Reflection

Doug Brown has joined this artificial intelligence software developer as head of growth for its U.S. government business, a role he brings 11 years of experience to.

Reflection designs its offerings to help government agencies, enterprise organizations and sovereign entities ownership and control over their AI resources.

Brown most recently worked as a federal account executive at Scale AI.

Safran Defense & Space Inc.

The aerospace defense and company’s subsidiary for U.S. government work has promoted a pair of executives to its C-level leadership group.

Phil Gassin moved up to chief operating officer after previously leading Safran’s shared services center for North America. The three-decade defense veteran joined Safran Defense & Space’s Optronics business in 2018 as chief financial officer, then became its COO in 2024.

Dr. Michael MacDougal elevated to chief technology officer and will continue in his other role as president of Safran DSI’s Attollo Engineering unit. The fellow three-decade market veteran joined Safran DSI in 2025 through its acquisition of Attollo, which he founded in 2012.

In addition to that, Allison McKay has rejoined SDI as chief of staff to work with its other executives on key initiatives. She previously worked at Safran from 2002-to-2015 in its public affairs team and led Women in Aviation International as CEO from 2020 to 2023.

Science Applications International Corp.

Kristen Butler has joined the technology integrator as senior vice president of total rewards, a role that involves initiatives covering employee compensation.

Butler most recently spent 18 years at ICF, including the latter 13 as VP of global total rewards. Her tenure at ICF also included a stint as senior director for global human resources strategy and operations.

SAIC announced its hire of Butler in a LinkedIn post.

Spire Global

Eric “Mell” Mellinger has joined this provider of space-based data and related analytics services as chief commercial officer, a role he brings three decades of defense sector experience to.

Spire has tasked Mellinger with leading its go-to-market strategy, business development, sales, strategic partnerships, and customer growth initiatives. These responsibilities cover both government and commercial markets.

Mellinger most recently worked at ManTech as vice president for business development and growth leader for its defense and space sector. The 30-year Marine Corps veteran is also a former defense acquisition reform staff lead for the House Armed Services Committee.

Tagup

Sean Welch has joined the logistics-focused defense technology company as a vice president following three decades of service in the Marine Corps.

Tagup announced its hire of Welch in a LinkedIn post, which listed his full title as VP for defense strategy and growth. Welch will lead efforts at “driving expansion of our AI-powered logistics solutions to generate U.S. and allied readiness,” Tagup said.

Welch remains a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Thunder

Seth Finkel has joined this Salesforce and Amazon Connect integration specialist as vice president of federal delivery and operations, a role he brings 25 years of experience to.

Thunder wrote in a LinkedIn post that Finkel “will lead the delivery of AI-powered, mission-driven solutions for federal agencies across the Salesforce ecosystem.”

Finkel most recently worked as chief operating officer at IronArch Technology for two years. His career also includes roles at Matterport and AECOM.

Trident Solutions

Dr. Josh Bruckmeyer has joined the defense electronics maker as executive vice president of engineering, a role he brings 25 years of experience to.

Trident has designated Bruckmeyer as its enterprise design authority with responsibilities for engineering strategies, technical performance, systems architecture, innovation, talent development and technical integrity.

Bruckmeyer most recently worked at L3Harris Technologies as vice president of engineering and technical fellow for its space and mission systems segment.

Vast

Melanie Stricklan, a co-founder and former chief executive of Slingshot Aerospace, has joined this space station developer as senior vice president of its newly-formed special programs division.

The two-decade industry veteran now leads Vast’s portfolio focused on defense and intelligence agencies. She starts her new role following Vast’s $500 million capital raise in the spring to support its habitat development efforts.

Stricklan and her colleagues started Slingshot in 2016, then she left the company in 2023. She most recently led innovation and strategic growth efforts at Space Foundation.

Vatn Systems

Tom Huntley has joined this venture-backed developer of autonomous torpedo-shaped underwater vehicles as chief growth officer, a role he brings 25 years of public sector experience to.

“Tom will lead Vatn’s growth strategy: business development, government relations, and communications as we scale the S6 and S12 platforms to major programs of record,” Vatn wrote in a LinkedIn post on the hire.

Huntley most recently spent three years at vessel maker Regent, where he helped lead initiatives for building its government business. He is also a 22-year Coast Guard veteran and former House Appropriations Committee staff member.

Arkenstone Defense

Joseph Larson, president and head of government at OpenAI, has joined the board of directors at this company focused on helping government contractors fulfill their compliance and other infrastructure requirements for working with agencies.

Larson has also been designated as the Arkenstone Defense board’s lead independent director, which means he is tasked with providing neutral oversight given the chairman and CEO roles are combined.

Arkenstone designs its software tool to act as a single platform for managing functions in workforce operations, human resources, payroll, insurance, personnel security, contracting support, compliance and accreditation.

Buchanan & Edwards

Kevin Higgins, a three-decade CIA veteran, has joined the board of directors at this national security technology integrator.

He is the founder of KSTK Enterprises and also advises private equity and venture capital firms on their investment decisions.

His CIA career includes service in roles such as chief of staff to the director, assistant director for Africa, and chief of operations for the Counterterrorism Center.

Securitas Critical Infrastructure Services

This U.S.-based subsidiary of the global security services company has stood up a new board of directors as part of a proxy agreement renewal progress to continue being eligible for classified government contracts.

Amanda Brownfield, Paul Dillahay and Brett Lambert are the board’s new members. Brownfield is a three-decade market veteran and former Applied Insight CEO, while Dillahay currently leads DigitalNet.ai’s artificial intelligence division.

Lambert’s three-decade career includes four years of service as deputy assistant defense secretary for manufacturing and industrial base policy, followed by a four-year stint as vice president of corporate strategy at Northrop Grumman.