Potomac Officers Club

Tiffanny Gates, Blackbird Technologies

Tiffanny Gates is the vice president for cyber strategies at Blackbird Technologies, a position she has held since December 2010.

In this position, Gates focuses on developing future programs in the company’s cyber and advanced technologies business areas.

Before joining Blackbird, Gates served as vice president of strategy and business development for ManTech International‘s mission, cyber and technologies solutions group. She also was the group’s lead cyber strategy officer and coordinated on investor relations and outreach, while also participating in acquisition efforts.

Prior to that role, Gates served in ManTech’s security and mission assurance group in the positions of vice president, chief technology officer and deputy chief of the cyber sector.

Gates joined ManTech upon the company’s acquisition of Emerging Technologies Group. At ETG, she served as president and chief executive officer for more than five years. The company said she had a successful track record of growth and recognition in the computer forensics and analysis community and successful coordination of global operations.

Before becoming president and CEO, Gates served as ETG’s corporate vice president and chief operations officer to federal government customers, including the Defense Department.

Prior to joining ETG, Gates was a consultant to a national security/information assurance team for the commander of the Naval Security Group, a now-inactive intelligence organization within the Navy. She also supported construction of C4ISR architectures for a program involving information operations and maritime cryptologic architecture.

Gates also worked with the National Security Agency as a technical analyst, specializing in counterintelligence threats from information technology.

Prior to starting her civilian career, Gates served in the Navy for seven years as a cryptologic officer.

Gates graduated from the Naval Academy.

Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, Inmarsat

Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch is senior vice president for government policy, strategy and outreach for Inmarsat‘s U.S. government services business unit.

Cowen-Hirsch shapes Inmarsat’s strategic direction and policy relating to government and leads the government outreach and advocacy program. She shapes the program’s execution and government focused capabilities.

Cowen-Hirsch, a 20-year veteran of the defense and aerospace industry, also has spent part of her career in the public sector as a member of the Senior Executive Service of the Defense Department.

At the Defense Information Systems Agency, she served as program executive officer for satellite communications, teleport and services. In this capacity, she was responsible for acquiring capabilities that included responsive, cost-effective, mission-oriented and customer-focused SATCOM services.

Additional SES positions Cowen-Hirsch has served in include vice component acquisition executive, where she held management responsibility for the acquisition oversight and horizontal integration of DISA’s products, services, and programs.

As director of the Defense Spectrum Office, her responsibilities included developing national security spectrum strategic plans and policy, and national and international negotiation of defense spectrum issues.

Cowen-Hirsch received an Exemplary Service Medal for her service with the Defense Department.

Cowen-Hirsch is a rated experimental flight test engineer and was the first female civilian mission commander for the Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft mission.

Cowen-Hirsch received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Kentucky and completed post-graduate studies in engineering management at the University of Dayton. She is also a graduate of the University of Tennessee Space Institute Experimental Flight Test Program, the Defense Department’s Acquisition Management Program and the Cambridge Senior Executive Leadership Program.

Stuart Young, URS Federal

As general counsel for URS Federal Services, Stuart Young has led the company’s legal function since 1999.

Young advises the company on government contracting and corporate law issues. He also provides legal support in the areas of labor and employment law, compliance, export control and intellectual property.

He supervises all company litigation, manages outside counsel and serves the secretary function for URS Federal Services, its subsidiaries and joint ventures.

Between 1992 and 1999, Young served as corporate counsel at DynCorp International. At DynCorp, he drafted teaming agreements, non-disclosure agreements, joint venture agreements and contract and subcontract documents. He litigated and advised in areas concerning bid protests, lawsuits, contract disputes and arbitrations.

Young was admitted under orders from the Government Accountability Office and the General Services Administration‘s Board of Contract Appeals and served as first chair at bid protest hearings. Stuart was involved in issues of international law, including negotiating contracts with foreign governments, foreign registration and tax issues. Stuart also provided legal support relating to the areas of intellectual property, ethics, Service Contract Act and other Labor Department and human resources.

Between 1984 and 1992, Young worked at the GSA. As the agency’s senior assistant general counsel, he handled bid protests filed against Federal Supply Service and other organizations acquiring personal property and services. He also handled contract formation, contract administration, cost and pricing issues, and procurement issues relating to the agency’s Multiple Award Schedules.

At GSA, Young also litigated bid protests as first chair at the GAO and the GSBCA for major procurements. He has also litigated contract appeals before the GSBCA and provided of counsel support to the Justice Department.

After graduating law school, Young gained admission to practice law in Maryland, Virginia and Washington. He also opened up his own practice, handling personal injury and criminal cases.

Young graduated from the University of Rochester in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He also earned a Juris Doctorate with Honors from George Washington University in 1982.

Aileen Black, VMware

Aileen Black is vice president of the public sector team for VMware, where she leads the company’s federal government sales and strategy efforts.

Black has held this position for four years and in that time, the company reports the federal team has increased its revenue from $8.9 million to $200 million this year.

The federal team focuses on delivering virtualization solutions to the company’s government customers.

Black, a 23-year veteran of the high-tech industry, has received recognition from outside the company, being named by CRN Magazine as one of the 100 most powerful women in the channel. Black has been interviewed on Federal News Radio to discuss virtualization and upgrading of server infrastructure.

Prior to joining VMware, Black served as federal area manager for EMC Corp. Before EMC, she held positions at ONTOS, including as vice president of the public sector and mid-Atlantic region. The company credits Black with opening and staffing a team that covered both areas.

Prior to joining ONTOS, Black was Oracle’s director of sales for the company’s intelligence community business. Black started her career as a systems engineer at Data General before moving into sales and won the company’s rookie of the year award.

Christopher Giusti, Capgemini

Christopher Giusti is the chief financial officer and chief operating officer for Herndon, Va.-based Capgemini Government Solutions, a subsidiary of Capgemini.

Giusti is responsible for all operations regarding finance and administration including contracts, human resources, security, information technology and facilities.

An industry veteran with nearly four decades of experience, Giusti joined Capgemini (previously Ernst & Young) in 1997 as a consultant, having served clients in multiple industries.

Prior to joining Capgemini, Giusti was a senior engineer with Lockheed Martin where he managed requirements and integration in multi-contractor programs for the Defense Department. These programs involved software, hardware, testing, planning, operations and support for mission critical assets.

Previously, Giusti led an operations team for General Electric‘s aerospace division, supporting real-time communications and information systems including migration to a new platform, resulting in end-users receiving an expanded suite of products.

Giusti graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical and biomedical engineering. He also holds an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke and a master’s degree in systems engineering from Virginia Tech.

Dave Herr, BAE

Dave Herr is president of BAE Systems‘ support solutions organization, a Rockville, Md.-based organization that serves the Defense Department and civilian sector federal customers.

Herr’s organization develops and integrates precision tracking radars and provides services for air and missile defense systems.

Its offerings include engineering and technical assistance, system and subsystem integration, communications system integration and readiness and sustainment services.

It employs more than 11,000 workers at facilities nationwide.

Herr previously served as vice president of commercial avionics for BAE’s platform solutions business, which supports platforms such as fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and ground vehicles.

Before that, he held the same role for BAE’s former electronics and integrated solutions group.

Prior to joining BAE, Herr held a series of executive positions at Lockheed Martin and General Electric‘s aircraft engines company. These included posts in procurement, program management, production operations, and product support.

Herr has also been a senior buyer at ITT‘s aerospace optical division and a material control supervisor for the former International Harvester Company, now known as Navistar.

Herr graduated from Saint Francis University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and earned an M.B.A. from Northern Kentucky University.