Transformation and strategy leadership moves across the market

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One high-profile defense tech startup and a second, much larger player expand the roles for some on their executive teams.

Acentra Health

Ezmeralda Sager joined the technology solutions and services provider on Jan. 6 as chief transformation officer, a role that involves company-wide change initiatives.

Sager will lead Acentra’s transformation office in its ongoing work to develop and deliver solutions for its health care clients in the government and commercial sectors.

Her two-decade career includes transformation leadership roles at Johnson Controls, Booz Allen Hamilton and Science Applications International Corp.

Acentra is backed by the Carlyle Group and was formed in late 2022 through the merger of CNSI with Kepro.

Anduril Industries

The defense tech unicorn has promoted and expanded the roles of four executives amid its push to undertake hyperscale production, starting with the recently-announced Arsenal-1 facility to be in Ohio.

Matthew Steckman is now president and chief business officer, through which he oversees Anduril’s core internal functions and helps shape its strategic direction.

Matthew Kaplan has moved up to senior vice president of corporate operations, while Joseph Larson leads the national security operations team as senior vice president.

Christian Brose has added the title of president in addition to his current role as chief strategy officer.

Auria Space

Pat Collins has joined the Enlightenment Capital-backed software developer as chief growth officer, a role he brings two decades of federal market experience to.

Collins most recently worked as chief growth officer at Aeyon, which Enlightenment sold to CGI back in the fall. Prior to that, he was chief strategy officer at one of Aeyon’s heritage businesses in Sehlke Consulting.

Enlightenment unveiled Auria in early 2024 as a company involved in aspects of space such as operations, domain awareness, orbital warfare training, cybersecurity and satellite communications management.

Galt Aerospace

Dave Webb has joined the airborne systems developer as president and chief operating officer, a role he brings three decades in program management and product development to.

Webb’s career in the industry includes roles at companies such as CAES (Cobham Advanced Electronics Solutions) and Raytheon.

GALT is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business whose customer base includes the Navy and Air Force, among others.

L3Harris Technologies

Ken Bedingfield, who joined in late 2023 as chief financial officer, will add president of the Aerojet Rocketdyne segment to his duties at the company on Feb. 3.

Bedingfield succeeds Ross Niebergall, who will stay with L3Harris to support the transition before his retirement. Niebergall became president of Aerojet following its acquisition by L3Harris, where he also is a former chief technology officer.

Sam Mehta, president of the communications segment, now also oversees L3Harris’ strategic collaboration agreements with industry partners. Heidi Wood, who is leading L3Harris’ LHX NeXt transformation initiative, now reports directly to Chair and CEO Chris Kubasik.

Metaphase

Brian Funk has joined the IT and management consulting services provider as chief technology officer, a role he brings approximately two decades of experience to.

Funk most recently worked as a partner at IBM and before that was a vice president of technology solutions at Octo, which Big Blue acquired in early 2023.

MetaPhase Consulting is an 8(a)-certified, minority-owned small business that works with agencies on programs related to requirements, system development and implementations, communications, change management, training, and data analytics.

Mindpetal

Michael Grace is now chief strategy officer at the artificial intelligence tech integrator, following its late 2023 acquisition of VerticalApps.

Grace was an owner and chief technical officer for VerticalApps prior to the transaction. His 25-year industry career also includes roles at Oracle and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Now as CSO, Grace will lead growth initiatives focused on what MindPetal calls “smart AI solutions.”

Seekr

Dr. Lisa Costa, most recently chief technology and innovation officer at Space Force, has joined the advisory board for this enterprise artificial intelligence company.

Costa’s role will include helping Seekr engage with federal agencies on AI solutions, guiding the company on how to further iterate its product for the government landscape and communications with industry partners.

As Space Force’s first CTO-like official, Costa was responsible for developing strategy and policy to further advance the branch’s tech portfolio and how it manages data.