PAE taps Heller as its first CEO

PAE has tapped John Heller to be its new CEO, who will focus on executing the strategic vision for building the company into an industry-leading provider of services to the U.S. government.

PAE president Mike Dignam will continue in this role and report to Heller, who will become PAE's first CEO since being sold by Lockheed Martin in 2011.

Heller joins PAE from Engility Corp., where he served as senior vice president and chief operating officer since January 2013. Before Engility spun off from L-3 Communications, Heller served as president of the professional support services division of L-3. Before L-3, Heller held various positions at Harris and Multimax Inc.

“John has valuable experience, from successfully growing companies in the government and commercial services market and from his service in the military, that will benefit PAE as it continues to expand,” said Paul Cofoni, executive chairman of PAE’s board of directors.

Heller holds an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

His hiring to the role of CEO comes after a busy year for the company, which in May bought Computer Sciences Corp.’s Applied Technology Division for $175 million. PAE has been reaping the benefits of its investment since then, including winning a $44.6 million contract to develop, test and install the SureTrak Surveillance System for the Navy in November.