Executive Mosaic is pleased to present Nazzic Keene, CEO of Science Applications International Corporation, as a recipient of the 2022 Wash100 Award. Keene has earned this year’s Wash100 Award – an annual distinction for preeminent figures within the government contracting industry – for her leadership, vision, acquisition strategies and philanthropic efforts at the helm of SAIC.
This marks Keene’s fifth year of recognition and her fourth consecutive Wash100 Award, solidifying her place in the ranks of the top 100 executives driving innovation and delivering significant impact across the federal landscape.
Visit Wash100.com to cast your vote for SAIC’s Nazzic Keene and learn more about the award’s nine-year history.
“Nazzic Keene rose up from the COO role at SAIC to CEO less than 3 years ago and has proven to be the perfect choice to command the $7 billion integration, design, engineering, digital transformation and cyber powerhouse with her visionary leadership style,” commented Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic and founder of the prestigious Wash100 Award.
Garrettson continued, “Coupled with her impressive experience in operations, Nazzic has been tested and has successfully woven together previous acquisitions like Engility with recent acquisitions of Halfaker and Koverse. Nazzic’s rapid ascent to the CEO position of one of GovCon’s most identifiable and elite firms, has brought her industry-wide recognition as one of the most distinguished names in GovCon.”
“While successfully balancing an impressive acquisition strategy, Nazzic has also made key management changes to SAIC and inspires her company with her energetic, transformational leadership style and ability to clearly articulate SAIC’s roadmap into the future,” he added.
As the head of SAIC, Nazzic Keene leads a charge of over 26,500 employees working to deliver system integration, engineering and information technology services to defense, intelligence and civilian agencies across high-growth markets.
At the start of 2021, Keene said the Reston, Virginia-based firm was shifting its strategy to align with areas that had the most potential for growth and opportunity, even in the face of flattening budgets over the next few years.
“The areas that we’ve elected to invest in and the areas that we believe will be catalyst to our ability to grow above market in the years to come really are those areas that I’ve touched on: IT modernization, digital engineering across the entire portfolio, the space domain,” she said during a March 2021 earnings call.
In April 2021, SAIC added artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics capabilities to its portfolio with the acquisition of Koverse, a Seattle, Washington-based software company that provides data management platforms. Keene said the merger enriched SAIC’s data modernization offerings and opened up new opportunities for the company’s commercial and government customers.
Also in the same month, SAIC won two contracts, worth a total of $4.4 billion, to support the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Aviation and Missile Center. The first contract, a $3.6 billion award won by an SAIC-led team, covered engineering services for testing platforms and support for hardware-in-the-loop simulation and modeling processes.
Under a second contract, valued at $800 million, SAIC was tapped to perform system-of-systems modeling and simulation services to support training sessions, wargames and battlespace effectiveness experiments.
In the second half of 2021, SAIC continued its growth trajectory through key contract wins and acquisitions. SAIC’s third quarter results reflected a 4.4 percent revenue growth that increased the company’s overall revenue to $1.9 billion.
“Our strong results and sustained growth reflect the continued progress we are making in aligning SAIC with areas of increasing customer demand,” commented Keene on SAIC’s continued expansion efforts.
This growth can be attributed in part to SAIC’s $250 million cash acquisition of federal health IT company Halfaker and Associates in July 2021. The transaction helped to build up SAIC’s portfolio of digital transformation offerings, particularly in the areas of digital engineering and DevSecOps.
“Halfaker is a strong cultural fit with mission-focused talent, and enhances our ability to support our customers’ digital transformation needs and positions SAIC to be an innovative technology solutions provider into the future,” Keene said.
SAIC reported $410 million in earnings from space and intelligence sector contracts for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022, bringing its full FY22 total across these sectors to $2 billion.
In November 2021, SAIC won a $1.1 billion contract from the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command to produce afterbody tailcones for the MK48 MOD 7 torpedo and deliver support services for the Navy’s warshot fuel tanks.
SAIC’s additional work with the Navy included the company’s selection that same month to modernize the MyNavy HR Enterprise through a $556 million Technical Services Support 2 contract.
In addition to driving strategic acquisitions and growth, Keene has also demonstrated impact through her philanthropic efforts. During Hunger Action Month in September 2021, SAIC raised over $385,000 – the most the company has raised in its eight year partnership with Feeding America – to combat food insecurity. Keene applauded SAIC’s employees for going the “extra mile” in 2021 to help people in need.
Keene also became the first female recipient of the Boy Scouts of America’s 2021 Technology Good Scout Award. The award recognized Keene for her impact in the technology sector and for her demonstration of BSA values.
Her recognition also perpetuated SAIC’s legacy of involvement with the BSA. SAIC’s founder, Bob Beyster was the first ever recipient of the award.
Keene was elevated to the role of SAIC’s chief executive officer in March 2019, after serving for over two years as the company’s chief operating officer and for nearly five years as president of the company’s global markets and missions sector.
Executive Mosaic congratulates Nazzic Keene and the SAIC team for their selection to the 2022 Wash100 Award and for their continued impacts in the government contracting sector.
