Growth, finance and tech leadership moves across the market

AEVEX Corp.

Murali Krishnan has joined the defense technology company as chief growth officer, two months after its $320 million initial public offering.

The two-decade industry veteran will oversee functions related to global business development, customer engagement, key partnerships and expansion initiatives.

Krishnan most recently worked as a sector vice president within the space systems segment at Northrop Grumman, where he spent five years. His career also includes senior roles at L3Harris Technologies and Raytheon.

CGI Federal

Jessica Hersey has joined this subsidiary of the global technology and professional services provider as senior vice president for defense, intelligence and space.

CGI’s LinkedIn post on the hire cites her two-decade background as covering enterprise architecture, cybersecurity and IT modernization efforts.

She spent around two years at Red River, most recently as executive vice president for growth in its government unit. Her career also includes stops at Janes and Leidos in business development leadership roles.

GRVTY

Mark McNeely has joined the Arlington Capital Partners-owned defense technology company as chief administrative officer, a role he brings two decades of experience to.

GRVTY has tasked McNeely with overseeing functions related to procurement, contracts, supply chain, information technology, security and facilities.

McNeely most recently worked as CAO at AeroVironment, which acquired BlueHalo in May 2025. Prior to that transaction, he spent four years at BlueHalo as a senior vice president and later CAO.

J.P. Morgan

Brandt Grobeis has taken up a new role at the global financial giant as head of its aerospace, defense and government services commercial banking business.

The 17-year J.P. Morgan veteran will lead the ADG team’s work with clients in industry and other units across the company, including the group overseeing the Security and Resiliency Initiative.

“Brandt will help strengthen our support of the defense and national security supply chain and deepen engagement with product and manufacturing companies critical to U.S. supply chain resilience,” Matt Beardall, managing director for Northeast and Southeast commercial banking, wrote in a LinkedIn post.

Maximus

Al Thompson has joined the technology and professional services company as senior vice president of government relations, a role he brings nearly three decades of experience to.

Thompson will lead Maximus’ engagements with policymakers and agency leaders in his new role.

He most recently worked as VP of U.S. and Canada government relations at Intel. His career also includes a stop at RTX Corp. and service as a House staffer.

Modern Technology Solutions Inc.

Ashutosh Gokhale has joined the employee-owned engineering services provider as chief financial officer, a role he brings two decades of experience to.

Gokhale most recently worked as CFO for HII’s mission technologies division, which recorded around $3 billion in revenue for 2025. He held that role from 2021 to 2025.

Prior to HII, he spent 14 years at Maximus, with the latter six as CFO for its federal segment.

Patriot LLC

George Kanstios has joined the technology and professional services provider as chief growth officer, a role he brings 25 years of industry experience to.

Kanstios announced his new role in a LinkedIn post that cited Patriot’s push to expand its capabilities, grow partnership and pursue new business opportunities.

He most recently worked as a vice president at Zolon Tech. His career also includes roles at NJVC and American Systems.

Precise Systems

Tom Viehe has joined the defense technology integrator as executive vice president of business development, a role he brings a decade of BD leadership experience to.

Viehe will oversee the development of enterprise-wide growth processes and other initiatives to support efforts at expanding across different Navy communities.

He most recently worked as VP of BD at Valkyrie Enterprises. His career also includes stops at Systems Engineering Group, T-Solutions and IDS International.

Sierra Space

Jeff Shrader, who joined as chief strategy officer in April, has moved over to the chief financial officer position at this spacecraft and defense tech maker.

The 25-year market veteran’s new areas of responsibility include financial strategy, capital planning and other execution priorities.

His career prior to Sierra Space includes senior roles at Lockheed Martin, SEAKR Engineering and Blue Canyon Technologies.

VetsEZ

Raj Nachiappan has moved up to chief artificial intelligence officer at the federal health IT solutions provider, which he first joined in 2015 after two decades at the Veterans Affairs Department.

“Raj will oversee the continued growth and operations of EZ Labs, VetsEZ's innovation hub dedicated to developing AI-powered solutions, accelerating emerging technologies, and transforming bold ideas into mission-ready capabilities for our federal partners,” VetsEZ wrote in a LinkedIn post on the promotion.

He most recently worked as vice president of solution architecture at VetsEZ, and he he served as a lead program architect at VA for 15 years before that.

VulcanForms

Michael Kenworthy has joined this developer of digital metal manufacturing technology as chief technology officer, a role he brings two decades of experience to.

VulcanForms works with companies in aerospace, defense and other manufacturing-heavy segments on efforts to expand capacity and shorten lead times for high-performance products.

He most recently worked as vice president of engineering at Relativity Space. His career also includes C-level executive roles at Seurat Technologies and Divergent.

Systems Planning & Analysis

Robert Richards, formerly chief financial officer for BlueHalo, has joined the board of directors at this technical services provider.

The 15-year industry veteran helped lead BlueHalo through its integrations of 14 acquisitions, organic growth pursuits and sale to AeroVironment in 2025.

Richards also is a former CFO for Centauri, which KBR acquired in 2021.