Youngkin rejoins the private sector and more leadership moves across the market

Red Cell Partners

Glenn Youngkin, Virginia’s governor from 2022 until January of this year, has joined the technology incubation firm as chairman in a move that returns him to his investment roots.

Before he became governor, Youngkin spent 25 years at The Carlyle Group and became its co-CEO in 2018. Youngkin and fellow co-CEO Kewsong Lee oversaw Carlyle’s transition from a publicly-traded partnership to a corporation.

Youngkin retired from Carlyle in the fall of 2020, then was elected governor the following year.

Now at Red Cell, Youngkin will work with founder and CEO Grant Verstandig on identifying investment opportunities in the public sector and health care technology verticals.

Red Cell is a backer of Epirus, one of a handful of defense technology startups whose touted valuations exceed $1 billion.

Acentra Health

Michael Kingston has joined the Carlyle Group-owned technology solutions and services provider as chief digital and information officer, a role he brings three decades of tech experience to.

Acentra’s new CDIO organization covers artificial intelligence, digital transformation, cybersecurity and other aspects of tech modernization.

Kingston most recently worked as managing director and chief information officer for the Americas within Carlyle’s global portfolio solutions team. His career also includes roles at L'Oréal, Neiman Marcus, Coach, Ann and LVMH.

Aeon

Wes Shover has joined the tactical weapons systems developer as chief growth officer, a role he brings two decades of defense sector experience to.

Shover most recently worked as vice president of business development at Zone 5 Technologies and is a former Air Force TACP Joint Terminal Attack controller.

"Today's warfighter is facing threats that have evolved faster than the systems designed to defeat them,” Shover said in Aeon’s LinkedIn post on the hire. Unmanned systems have fundamentally changed the battlefield, exposing critical capability gaps in affordable, modular weapons and integrated defense.

AVMAC

Shawn Rumbley, a retired Navy captain, has joined the aviation and technical services provider after 38 years in military service.

Rumbley will lead AVMAC's enterprise strategy, business development, capture management, strategic partnerships and market expansion initiatives.

His career in uniform includes a stint as leader of the Maintenance Operations Center pillar of the Naval Sustainment System – Aviation.

Axiom Space

Zach Gitomer has moved up to chief financial officer at this private capital-backed space exploration and infrastructure company, which he first joined in the spring as vice president of investor relations and capital markets.

Gitomer's 15-year finance career prior to Axiom includes investment banking and capital markets roles at Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Citi.

Axiom also hired a new chief information officer in Erick Wegerer, a 16-year tech veteran and former CIO at Boeing's Insitu subsidiary that manufactures unmanned aircraft.

Chugach Government Solutions

Nicholas Ostrovsky has moved up to senior vice president and general counsel at this technical and professional services provider, which he first joined in 2025.

Ostrovsky will also hold responsibility over Chugach’s human resources functions in addition to legal.

Chugach has also promoted Melissa Hermes, a 25-year company veteran, to vice president of corporate tax.

Dynanet

Ana Lombera has moved up to chief operating officer at the technology and professional services firm, which she first joined in 2018.

Lombera was most recently vice president of strategy and operations. She succeeds longtime COO Bill Gillan, who is moving over to chairman of the board of directors.

Gillan has been with Dynanet for 25 years and is also a former chief financial officer.

Ericsson Federal Technologies Group

Melissa Milstead has joined this subsidiary of the networking and telecommunications company as chief legal officer after four years in the parent organization’s Americas business.

“This role represents a chance to help shape strategy, enable innovation, and strengthen the governance, ethics, and legal frameworks that allow mission-focused organizations to operate with confidence and integrity,” Milstead wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Milstead’s career prior to Ericsson includes roles at Shmadzu Scientific Instruments and McKinsey & Company.

Everfox

John DeSimone has joined the cybersecurity company as chief operating officer, a role he brings three decades of experience to.

He is reuniting with Everfox CEO Dave Wajsgras and Chief Financial Officer Toby O’Brien as all three worked together at Raytheon before its merger with United Technologies in 2020 to form RTX.

DeSimone most recently was CEO of Nightwing, which separated out of RTX in early 2024. Everfox also traces its lineage to Raytheon.

DeSimone’s career prior to Raytheon includes leadership roles at CSRA, Computer Sciences Corp. and IBM.

General Dynamics Corp.

Nick Barnaby, currently vice president and deputy general counsel, will move up to senior VP and general counsel for the corporation on Jan. 1.

Barnaby succeeds current general counsel Greg Gallopoulos, who is retiring on Dec. 31 after 15 years at the company.

Barnaby first joined General Dynamics in 2018 as assistant general counsel after seven years at Jenner & Block.

General Dynamics IT

Sophie Ondrus has joined the defense company’s IT services business unit as vice president and general manager of its national intelligence sector, which is a part of GDIT’s intelligence and homeland security division.

GDIT’s LinkedIn post on the hire cites Ondrus’ background as including leadership over IT modernization efforts involving cloud computing, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

Ondrus most recently worked as a vice president at Leidos, where spent 10 years prior to GDIT.

General Dynamics IT, 2x

Niranjan Sathindran has joined GDIT as vice president and chief technology officer for its federal health division, a role he brings 25 years of experience to.

Sathindran most recently led Dovewing Technologies as CEO since he founded the federal IT consulting firm in 2019. His career also includes roles at IBM and Oracle.

“Federal health touches millions of everyday Americans - veterans accessing the benefits they've earned, families navigating Medicare and Medicaid, Americans relying on systems built to serve them. Getting technology right here means people get better care and support, faster,” Sathindran wrote in a LinkedIn post on his new position.

Hermeus

Rob Novotny has joined this venture-backed maker of hypersonic aircraft as vice president of business development, a role he brings three decades of defense sector experience to.

A retired Air Force brigadier general, Novotny most recently worked as a vice president at Qarbon Aerospace and before that was an executive director for BD at Boeing. He retired from the Air Force in 2020 after a two-year assignments as commander of the 57th Wing.

Hermeus completed a $350 million Series C capital raise in the spring to back its efforts in speeding up production and creating more prototypes.

Heven AeroTech

Lexi Alexander has joined this maker of hydrogen-powered unmanned aircraft as chief growth officer, a role she brings three decades of industry experience to.

Alexander will lead efforts focused on operational scaling and international expansion amid the company’s own growth from 38 employees in 2025 to 88 now.

She most recently worked as vice president of cyber at Peraton. Her career also includes roles at ASRC Federal, L3 Technologies and Serco Group’s U.S. subsidiary.

HII

Frederick ‘Fritz’ Roegge, a retired Navy vice admiral and former president of the National Defense University, has joined the shipbuilder and tech integrator in a vice president position.

Roegge’s full title is vice president of operations for the nuclear and environmental team, whose clients include the Energy Department and National Nuclear Security Administration. He is also a former commander for the Pacific Fleet’s Submarine Force.

Roegge succeeds Lauren Bruner, who transitioned to a new leadership role within a mission assurance team.

Integrity Management Services

Natasha Williams has moved up to president and chief operating officer at this company focused on payment and program integrity efforts, which she first joined in 2011.

IntegrityM has tasked Williams with overseeing day-to-day operations, execution and innovation initiatives.

Williams is also an adjunct faculty member of the Prince George’s County Community College philosophy department.

Madison Dearborn Partners

Alex Fisher and Brandon Levitan have moved up to co-heads of the private investment firm’s technology and government team after 12 years there.

MDP’s current holdings in the government market include Omni, Revolutional and T2S Solutions and Unison. The firm is also the controlling shareholder in AEVEX, which undertook its $320 million initial public offering in April.

MDP announced the promotions in a LinkedIn post.

ManTech

Dr. Kristen Summers has moved up to chief data and artificial intelligence officer at the company, which she first joined in the spring of 2024.

“Bringing over two decades of expertise in AI, Dr. Summers will continue to lead our Data and AI practice in delivering the innovative, trustworthy capabilities our government and commercial clients need to achieve their goals,” ManTech wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Summers most recently worked as a vice president and technical fellow for the practice. Her career also includes roles at Microsoft, IBM and CACI International.

Modern Technology Solutions Inc.

Rich Fisne has joined the employee-owned engineering services provider as vice president of contracts, a role he brings four decades of experience to.

Fisne most recently worked as senior VP of contractors at HII’s mission technologies division.

His career also includes senior roles at Alion Science and Technology, ManTech and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Omni

Steve Hamric has joined the defense software integrator as chief financial officer, a role he brings three decades of experience to.

Hamric most recently worked as chief financial officer at Astrion for one year and before that held the CFO at Cognosante in a four-year period that ended with its acquisition by Accenture’s U.S. federal subsidiary in 2025.

He is also a former CFO for 1901 Group and TeraThink Corp., which were respectively acquired by Leidos in 2021 and CGI Federal in 2020.

QinetiQ US

Jennifer “Jenn” Deaver has moved up to chief people officer at this subsidiary of the U.K.-headquartered defense tech company, which she joined via the combination with Avantus Federal in 2023.

She most recently led QinetiQ US’ talent acquisition organization and before that oversaw the enterprise talent strategy at Avantus.

A two-decade human resources veteran, Deaver’s first day in her new role was July 6.

Radiance Technologies

Dr. Mark Tillman has moved up to president and chief engineer at the employee-owned government technology services company, which he first joined in 2024 as a vice president.

“Dr. Tillman will lead Radiance’s enterprise mission engineering efforts, helping connect customer missions with the technologies, capabilities, and expertise across our company while supporting strategic customer engagement and collaboration,” Radiance wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Prior to Radiance, Tillman served in the Defense Intelligence Agency for 33 years and was its chief scientist for his final four years there.

Riva Solutions

Sean “Fitz” Fitzpatrick has moved up to chief digital officer at the technology transformation company, which he first joined in 2022 as senior vice president for human-centered design.

Riva has tasked Fitzpatrick with leading its strategy for digital service delivery, user experience and human-centered design.

The two-decade market veteran’s career prior to Riva includes roles at CollabraLink, Booz Allen Hamilton and Aquilent.

Sayres Defense and Global Systems Technologies

Pete Nelson has joined this enterprise as chief growth officer, a role he brings three decades of defense sector experience to.

Nelson announced his new position in a LinkedIn post that cites the organization’s focus areas as including security technology, interoperability, logistics and weapons of mass destruction.

He most recently worked as chief growth officer at MetroStar. His career also includes roles at Peraton, BAE Systems Inc. and Northrop Grumman.

Sayres and GST are both owned by the private equity firm Broadtree Partners, which also holds Joint Research and Development.

Tyto Athene

Art Boghozian has joined the technology integrator as vice president of business development for its business unit focused on the Defense Department.

The 15-year veteran now leads Tyto’s growth pursuits across the military service branches and joint commands.

Boghozian’s career prior to Tyto includes roles at Amentum, Pyramid Systems, Science Applications International Corp. and CSRA.

Orqa U.S.

Rodney Lewis, a retired Air Force major general and deputy director for force protection of the Joint Staff, has joined the board of directors at this maker of unmanned aircraft.

Lewis concluded his 32-year military career in 2023 and served in that assignment for the latter two years.

He is also a former director of strategy, posture and assessments for the Air Force.