2026 GovCon Executive Leadership Summit | Potomac Officers Club
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Keynote Speakers
Speakers
Yusuf Abdul-Salaam
CEO
Xpect
Dr. Bryan Benedict
Sr Director of Innovation and Satellite Programs
SES
Michael Buscher
President of U.S. Operations
Heven AeroTech
Rob Clark
President
Seekr
Chris Crowder
EVP of GovCon
Unanet
Frank Flaherty
Vice President, Chief Engineer, Mission Integrated Command and Control (MIC2)
Lockheed Martin
Dan Ford
Chair and CEO, Capgemini Government Solutions
Capgemini
Heather Gerczak
Chief Administrative Officer
Integral Federal
Lisa Henke
VP of Sensor and Defense Mission Systems
LeoLabs
Peder Jungck
Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer
BAE Systems
Chad Kim
CEO
Bcore
Michael LaRouche
CEO
Serco Inc.
Andy Maner
Advisory Partner
NewSpring Capital
Stephanie Mango
President
CGI Federal
LTG (Ret) Kevin McLaughlin
CEO
C Speed
Megan Milam
SVP, Government Relations
Anduril Industries
Mark Peters
CEO
MITRE
Kevin Plexico
SVP, Information Solutions
Deltek
Patrick Shortsleeve
Vice President, DoD Strategic Development
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
Richard VanderMeulen
VP Space & Satellite Broadband
Viasat
Tom Vecchiolla
President and CEO
QinetiQ US
Josh Wilson
CEO
LMI
Otis Winkler
Vice President, Corporate Development & National Security Programs
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions
Agenda
| 7:00am | 8:00am | Networking Reception |
| 8:00am | 8:15am | Welcome & Opening Remarks |
| 8:15am | 8:40am | Opening Keynote- Joseph Larson |
| 8:40am | 9:00am | Morning Keynote- Thiyagu Ramasamy |
| 9:00am | 9:20am | Mid-Morning Keynote |
| 9:20am | 9:30am | Networking Break |
| 9:30am | 10:30am | Leading the Shift: CEOs at the Crossroads of Innovation and Integration- Kevin Plexico (Moderator), Tom Vecchiolla (Panelist), Dan Ford (Panelist), Stephanie Mango (Panelist) |
| 10:30am | 11:00am | Networking Break |
| 11:00am | 12:00pm | Panel A: New at the Top: Powering the Next Phase of Growth- Chris Crowder (Moderator), Michael LaRouche (Panelist), Josh Wilson (Panelist), Mark Peters (Panelist), Michael Buscher (Panelist) |
| 11:00am | 12:00pm | Panel B: Digital Warfighters: The New Power Players in Defense Tech - Andy Maner (Moderator), Yusuf Abdul-Salaam (Panelist), Chad Kim (Panelist), Kevin McLaughlin (Panelist), Rob Clark (Panelist) |
| 12:00pm | 1:00pm | Networking Lunch |
| 1:00pm | 2:00pm | Panel A: Golden Dome: Shaping Integrated Defense Through Collaborative Innovation- Peder Jungck (Panelist), Richard Vander Meulen (Panelist), Lisa Henke (Panelist), Frank Flaherty (Panelist), Bryan Benedict (Panelist) |
| 1:00pm | 2:00pm | Panel B: Achieving Acquisition Reform: Navigating the New Rules of Winning- Greg Little (Panelist), Patrick Shortsleeve (Panelist), Otis Winkler (Panelist), Megan Milam (Panelist) and Heather Gerczak (Moderator) |
| 2:10pm | 2:30pm | Afternoon Keynote |
| 2:30pm | 2:50pm | Closing Keynote |
| 2:50pm | 3:00pm | Closing Comments |
