In national security, leadership changes tend to arrive in clusters. This week brought movement at the top of the Army, a new chief for the Space Force, a Navy secretary nomination, and several notable shifts across the government contracting and defense technology sectors.
The common thread is experience. Agencies are turning to established officials who already understand their missions, while contractors are promoting insiders or recruiting leaders with long records in federal acquisition, intelligence, operations, and defense software.
Consider this your latest national security “who’s in, who’s out, and who’s on the move” list.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
This week’s federal moves reach across three military services. The Army filled its top civilian position on an acting basis, the Space Force welcomed its third service chief, and the White House moved to make the Navy’s acting secretary permanent.
Adam Telle, Department of the Army
New role: Acting Secretary of the Army
Previously: Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
President Donald Trump appointed Adam Telle acting secretary of the Army following Dan Driscoll’s resignation. Telle had served as assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works since August 2025.
In that position, Telle oversaw policy and supervision for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program, which includes commercial navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, and certain environmental permitting responsibilities.
Before joining the Army, Telle served as chief of staff to Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee. He also worked in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs during Trump’s first administration and held several positions with the late Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi.
Telle takes over an Army facing major decisions involving force modernization, acquisition reform, drones, munitions production, and the defense industrial base. His appointment provides immediate civilian leadership while the administration considers a permanent nominee.
Gen. Douglas Schiess, U.S. Space Force
New role: Chief of Space Operations
Previously: Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations
Gen. Douglas Schiess assumed responsibility as the Space Force’s third chief of space operations on September 3, succeeding Gen. Chance Saltzman.
Schiess is a career space operator whose experience includes missile warning, satellite command and control, launch operations, and GPS. Before becoming service chief, he served as deputy chief of space operations for operations and was the first commander of U.S. Space Forces-Space, the Space Force component supporting U.S. Space Command.
In his first address as chief, Schiess emphasized readiness, resilient capabilities, partnerships, and the need to expand both the Space Force workforce and its systems intentionally.
That growth will be a defining part of his tenure. The Space Force is expected to take on more personnel and missions as demand increases for missile warning, secure communications, space domain awareness, and other military space capabilities. Schiess will help determine how the service builds its workforce and works with industry to field those systems.
Hung Cao, Department of the Navy
New role: Nominee for Secretary of the Navy
Current role: Acting Secretary of the Navy
President Trump has nominated Hung Cao to serve permanently as secretary of the Navy. The nomination requires Senate confirmation.
Cao became acting Navy secretary in April after previously serving as under secretary of the Navy. A retired Navy captain and former special operations officer, he spent 25 years in uniform and later worked as a vice president and client executive at CACI International.
Since becoming acting secretary, Cao has made shipbuilding, warfighter readiness, unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, and the maritime industrial base central parts of his agenda. He has also established new leadership structures focused on robotic and autonomous systems and defense industrial capacity.
If confirmed, Cao would continue overseeing the Navy and Marine Corps during a period of significant investment in fleet expansion, shipyard capacity, autonomous platforms, and the technologies supporting the Navy’s proposed Golden Fleet.
NATSEC CONTRACTORS
The contractor moves this week are heavy on succession planning and operational growth. Companies are promoting proven internal leaders while adding executives who have experience scaling federal portfolios and supporting defense and intelligence customers.
Todd Johnston, Thompson Gray
New role: Chief Executive Officer
Previously: President
Thompson Gray has named Todd Johnston CEO, succeeding Ron Gray, who is transitioning to executive chairman.
Johnston joined the Huntsville-based government contractor in 2023 after more than a decade in defense and federal contracting. He became president within two years and helped guide the company’s strategy, business development, customer relationships, and operational growth.
Thompson Gray is a 100% employee-owned company with more than 300 employee-owners and annual revenue exceeding $70 million. It supports defense and civilian agencies in areas including financial management, engineering, enterprise IT, digital transformation, logistics, and program management.
The transition gives Johnston control of day-to-day leadership while keeping Gray involved in the company’s long-term strategy. That continuity could help Thompson Gray preserve its employee-owned culture while competing for larger and more complex federal work.
Jen Mehall, ASRC Federal
New role: President, Defense & Intelligence Operating Group
Previously: Senior Vice President and General Manager
ASRC Federal has promoted Jen Mehall to lead its Defense & Intelligence Operating Group. She succeeds Mike Manzo, who became ASRC Federal’s president and CEO in July.
Mehall has spent 10 years with ASRC Federal. In her previous role, she led the company’s Professional Support Services and Broadleaf divisions while also overseeing defense and intelligence operations.
Her portfolio included professional services and cybersecurity work for customers such as the Army, Navy, and Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. ASRC Federal said the business produced double-digit year-over-year growth under her leadership.
Mehall brings more than 25 years of federal contracting experience, including previous positions at CACI and Chenega. Her promotion continues a broader ASRC Federal leadership transition and places an experienced insider over some of the company’s most important national security customers.
Mallory Cawlfield, RealmOne
New role: Chief Operating Officer
Previously: Executive Director at CACI
RealmOne has appointed Mallory Cawlfield chief operating officer, placing her in charge of company operations as the national security technology provider pursues its growth strategy.
Cawlfield brings more than 25 years of leadership and operations experience. At CACI, she managed a portfolio valued at several hundred million dollars. She previously served as vice president of Maryland operations at Applied Insight and spent nearly 15 years helping build Zavda Technologies.
Her background also includes eight years of service with the Navy and Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command. As a contracting officer, she worked on acquisition planning and contract administration for major construction and facility-support programs.
RealmOne was formed in 2024 through the combination of iNovex, Innoplex, Secure Innovations, and HTS Infosys. The company supports defense and Intelligence Community customers in cybersecurity, intelligence collection, and analysis. Cawlfield’s combination of acquisition and portfolio-management experience should be useful as RealmOne works to scale without losing the specialized expertise of the companies brought together under its brand.
DEFENSE TECH
This week’s defense tech appointments have a clear mission focus. One space company is bringing a former NGA director into an operating role, while a defense software company is adding a growth executive to expand its work across military programs.
Frank “Trey” Whitworth, Satellogic
New role: President
Previously: Strategic Adviser to Satellogic and CEO of r4 Federal
Satellogic has named retired Navy Vice Adm. Frank “Trey” Whitworth president, moving the former director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency from an advisory position into the company’s day-to-day leadership.
Whitworth will oversee internal operations and help shape Satellogic’s defense and intelligence product strategy. He will report to company co-founder and CEO Emiliano Kargieman.
Whitworth led NGA from June 2022 through November 2025, overseeing the 16,000-person combat support agency. His earlier assignments included intelligence director for the Joint Staff, U.S. Africa Command, and Joint Special Operations Command, as well as deputy director for computer network operations at the National Security Agency.
Satellogic provides satellite imagery and persistent monitoring capabilities to government, defense, and commercial customers. Whitworth’s move gives the company a president with direct knowledge of how defense and intelligence agencies collect, analyze, and operationalize geospatial information.
Scott DeVona, Parry Labs
New role: Chief Revenue Officer
Previously: Executive at Research Innovations Inc.
Parry Labs has named Scott DeVona chief revenue officer as the defense technology company works to expand its software across military platforms and programs.
DeVona brings approximately two decades of experience building defense software businesses and competing for software-focused programs. His work has included customers across the Army, Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, DARPA, combatant commands, and allied governments.
At Research Innovations, DeVona led a commercial software organization and helped turn mission software into licensed products with recurring revenue. He previously helped build corporate growth functions at two defense software companies.
Parry Labs develops software that connects platforms, sensors, networks, artificial intelligence, and mission data without locking customers into a single proprietary ecosystem. DeVona’s appointment suggests the company is moving into a more aggressive growth phase as the military pushes for open architectures and interoperability across existing and autonomous systems.
THE MOVE BEHIND THE MOVE
If last week’s theme was the movement of leaders between government and industry, this week’s list is about putting experienced operators in charge of execution.
Adam Telle, Douglas Schiess, Todd Johnston, and Jen Mehall were all elevated from roles that had already placed them close to the work they will now lead. Their organizations are betting that familiarity with the mission can shorten transitions and preserve momentum.
The Whitworth appointment adds another layer. Defense technology companies are not just recruiting former government officials as advisers or board members. Satellogic is giving a former Intelligence Community leader direct operational authority over the business.
That shift matters. As defense technology companies take on larger programs and more demanding government missions, firsthand knowledge of customer requirements is moving from the advisory room into the C-suite.
PEOPLE TO WATCH
Kyle Schutt: The new acting chief information officer at the Department of Homeland Security will also lead the Office of Biometric Identity Management. His portfolio puts him at the center of DHS technology modernization, enterprise artificial intelligence, and biometric identity systems.
Julie Barth: Alpha Omega’s new senior vice president of business development brings experience from Leidos, IBM, and other federal technology organizations. She will help shape the company’s growth across national security and civilian agency markets.
Janet McKinnerney: The new chief financial officer at Advanced IT Concepts brings more than 25 years of finance experience to a company supporting federal defense, intelligence, and technology missions.
