The annual Wash100 Award, presented by Executive Mosaic, the industry-leading events, media and membership organization for the government contracting sector, is the pinnacle of a GovCon executive’s career. The hallowed hall of first-time winners in 2025 features software and IT magnates, demonstrating their innovation and influence across the federal marketplace.
For GovCons, paying attention to Wash100 winners from software and IT firms isn’t just about following headlines—it’s about identifying key partners, decision-makers and trendsetters. These illustrious executives are at the forefront of modernizing federal IT and software infrastructure. They’re influencing policy priorities and setting procurement standards.
Let’s dive into the bios of these federal contracting leaders in software and IT and discover how they had what it takes to become a Wash100 winner.
Executive Mosaic is elated to commence its 2026 Wash100 Award season soon and open executive nomination for the honor’s 13th anniversary. The season is fast approaching—nominations will begin in mid-November. Check back at Wash100.com for the most up-to-date news on submitting your nominations and to learn more about the legacy of this renowned award.
Dan Ford
Capgemini Government Solutions
Now CEO of its government solutions subsidiary, Dan Ford has been with Capgemini for nearly 20 years. He’s played a critical role in the company’s mergers and acquisitions, including acquiring VariQ in 2021 and Unity’s Government Professional Services division in 2024.
Ford guided CGS into leading collaborations with prominent organizations such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to evaluate carbon capture with quantum computing. Through the Imagining Practical Applications for a Quantum Tomorrow, or IMPAQT, CGS will investigate quantum algorithms and simulations to produce outcomes that may be utilized in data-driven modeling for carbon capture and storage applications.
Chris Smith
Red Hat
With a career that extends beyond 20 years, Chris Smith has positioned himself as an innovative leader in the technology industry, especially in promoting the use of open-source technologies in government agencies.
Prior to his tenure at Red Hat, Smith occupied several leadership roles in both the private and public sectors, concentrating on utilizing technology to improve operational efficiency and service delivery.
Now vice president and general manager of North America public sector for Red Hat, Smith has been influential in guiding the company’s cloud-native application services forward. Under his guidance, the company’s Open Shift Service in March 2024 gained FedRAMP Ready status, demonstrating the platform’s compliance with strict federal security requirements and streamlining its adoption by government agencies.
Smith led Red Hat into a collaboration with Elastic in late 2024 to offer a cohesive data management and AI deployment system specifically designed for public sector organizations. This partnership brought together Elastic’s Search AI Platform with Red Hat’s OpenShift AI, giving federal agencies an all-inclusive toolset to regulate data and effectively release AI applications.
Gautam Ijoor
Alpha Omega
Ijoor heralded Alpha Omega into leading GovCon acquisitions. He shepherded the company’s acquisition of Macro Solutions and SeKON in early 2025 as part of an effort to increase innovation and widen Alpha Omega’s offerings for federal and military clients.
Ijoor also guided the company to impressive contract wins. It won a potential five-year, $43 million award from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for data stewardship within the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, or NESDIS, organization.
Brian Flood
DecisionPoint
Flood’s bold decision-making has helped DecisionPoint become one of the most respected IT service providers in the federal GovCon landscape. The company in July 2024 secured a $10 million contract from the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to provide cybersecurity and cloud engineering for information security system management services.
DecisionPoint under Flood’s leadership also secured a $30 million contract from Transportation Command to provide cloud-native refactoring services and global freight management system improvements to the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command.
Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson founded the Wash100 Award in 2014 to celebrate the leading change-makers transforming the GovCon industry. The 2026 edition of the Wash100 Award will continue that celebration as nominations for the 13th anniversary will commence in mid-November. Visit Wash100.com for the latest updates on submitting your nominations.
Ram Mattapalli
Zolon Tech
Mattapalli has built Zolon Tech from the ground up. He created the company in 1998 to deliver cybersecurity, AI, mobile defense management, app development and cloud services focused on defense, intelligence and national security.
The company has a level three certification in the Standard Cybersecurity Maturity Model Integrated Appraisal Method for Process Improvement, or SCAMPI Class, making Zolon Tech one of the rare international class IT firms. Mattapalli in February 2024 also guided a Zolon Tech-Pioneer Corporate Services joint venture to a $32 million contract award to provide IT and information management support services to U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command.
Wayne Wilkinson
Integral Federal
Wilkinson has helped turn Integral Federal into one of the most respected IT providers in GovCon since joining the company in April 2021. Integral Federal in November 2024 acquired Pragmatics LLC to bolster its IT services with expertise in Agile and DevSecOps in the cloud.
His guidance helped the company to a prestigious FBI contract. Integral Federal received an award from the law enforcement agency to deliver a multi-agency cyber center with business analysis and investigative services for two years. Integral Federal is also delivering cyber, financial, virtual currency and data analytics support to the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force Criminal Mission Center as part of this award.
Melissa Palmer
HashiCorp
Palmer propelled HashiCorp, now an IBM company, into a leading force in software through savvy contracts. Palmer, in 2024, led HashiCorp’s software suite to becoming part of Carasoft’s Distributor Seller of Record effort. This made HashiCorp’s software suite available through the Amazon Web Service directory.
She also guided HasiCorp during IBM’s $6.4 billion acquisition of the company in February. The acquisition helps IBM better automate hybrid-cloud environments, spur innovation and bolster security amid the accelerating adoption of AI tools.
Peter LaMontagne
SMX
LaMontagne made his Wash100 debut for leading SMX through a timeframe of rapid expansion. Among many impressive IT contract awards, LaMontagne led the company to a $80 million Commodity Futures Trading Commission Cloud Governance and Administration of Technology Engineering, or CFTC cGATE award to provide cloud-based licensing and services.
He also drove SMX subsidiary cBEYONData’s milestone Level 2 certification for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 effort, demonstrating the company’s dedication to protecting controlled unclassified information for the Pentagon.
