AI experts

Five GovCon Experts in AI Technology Solutions

Artificial intelligence can help the government streamline its operations and improve the services it offers to the public. AI can take over routine, clerical tasks to allow people to focus on more important work, support mission-critical capabilities and advance research and development.

AI is used in various ways across the U.S. government. The Department of State, for instance, uses AI to advance diplomatic activities while the Department of Defense applies the technology to allow warfighters to hold an advantage on the battlefield.

The Potomac Officers Club – a division of Executive Mosaic – features five government contracting executives specializing in AI technology solutions.

Rick Simmons, Market Segment Sales Leader for Civilian Agencies at Nvidia

Rick Simmons has served software company Nvidia as market segment sales leader focused on civilian agencies since October 2018. His responsibilities include leading a team of account managers and developing and implementing the company’s go-to-market strategy. He has over 25 years of experience in sales and sales leadership positions at different technology companies and small start-ups, according to his LinkedIn account.

Simmon came to Nvidia from Micro Focus Government Solutions where he took the role of senior executive federal sales. Previously he was senior director at Brocade, tasked with managing enterprise and federal sales teams focused on technologies incorporating artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning. He also held vice president roles at Axway, Solera Networks, Oracle and Oblix and worked as director of federal and eastern region sales at VMware Carbon Black.

Working at the said companies enabled Simmons to lead teams covering various vertical markets, including enterprise Fortune 500 to 2000 accounts, global and strategic accounts, small and medium-sized businesses and all areas of the federal government. He also gained knowledge and experience winning competitive opportunities in both the commercial and federal government partnering with systems integrators, original equipment manufacturers and resellers.

At Axway, Simmons promoted solutions for supply chain management, managed file transfer, application programming interface gateways and cybersecurity and helped capture a competitive multiyear program in excess of $20M for managed services.

During his two-year career at Oracle as vice president of identity management and cybersecurity sales, Simmons was able to grow the company’s security sales team and increase its revenue to $46 million.

Simmons holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Nanda Ramanujam, Managing Director at Mission Technologies

Nanda Ramanujam is the managing director of technology strategy and artificial intelligence operations for the office of the chief technical officer at Mission Technologies, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Ramanujam, a member of the Potomac Officers Club, previously served as managing director of AI operations at Alion Science and Technology until it was absorbed into HII’s technical services division. His work primarily concentrates on innovation, technology strategy, strategic partnerships and corporate venture investments, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before joining Alion, Ramanujam co-founded Interflow AI, a company whose business revolves around AI-powered cybersecurity, 5G telecommunications and decision analytics. Before that, he was chief technical and strategy officer at ASSETT, a U.S. Navy contractor that provides AI and command and control services. From 2014 to 2017, he had a stint as an affiliate partner for the federal sector at Decision Strategies International, handling multiple markets including health care, financial services, and energy.

Another company Ramanujam founded is Fermi Analytics, a 5G wireless startup where he worked as a consultant to the National Academy of Sciences. Earlier in his career, he was CTO and vice president for DRS Technologies and the founder and CEO of Sensor Biomed Corp.

Ramanujam earned a Master of Business Administration degree with a focus on strategy and finance from the Wharton School and a master’s and a doctoral degree in optical sciences from the University of Arizona. He is a postdoctoral fellow at the Research Laboratory of Electronics of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

Lee Canterbury, Senior Vice President and General Manager at DataPrime

Lee Canterbury is the senior vice president and general manager at DataPrime, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business located in Leesburg, Virginia, whose offerings include artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions. He has been with DataPrime since January, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before joining his current employer, Canterbury served for three years as the VP of the defense and civilian sector at Science Applications International Corp. Previously, he had stints leading business development and growth strategy activities at Alethix, PowerTek, Customer Value Partners and General Dynamics Information Technology.

Canterbury also used to be the president and chief executive officer of Rolling Bay and a managing partner at Barling Bay. Canterbury had also worked for RGS Associates and the U.S. Secret Service’s Information Resources Management Division. Earlier in his career, he held the role of senior manager at Burke Consortium after serving as director of engineering for nuclear aircraft carrier construction and overhaul at Newport News Shipbuilding, where he spent nearly 15 years.

In 2002, Canterbury participated in Harvard Business School’s Executive Leadership Series program. At George Washington University, he obtained separate master’s degrees in information management and business administration. He earned bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics from West Virginia University.

J. Keith Dunbar, Founder and CEO of FedLearn

J. Keith Dunbar is the founder and CEO of FedLearn, which provides artificial intelligence-enabled online courses to the federal government and government contractors. Before launching FedLearn, Dunbar was a managing partner at JKD Talent Solutions, a woman-owned small business whose offerings included solutions for learning and talent development. He also worked as Leidos’ talent management director and as Science Applications International Corp.’s assistant vice president and learning and talent development director focused on the national security sector, according to his LinkedIn profile.

FedLearn was launched in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dunbar said the company “fills a large void in existing online learning solutions targeted specifically to the FedGov and GovCon markets.” According to the executive, FedLearn’s online learning platform is accessible anytime and anywhere, making it valuable to customers affected by the pandemic.

FedLearn is working to continuously improve its offering. In March, Dunbar welcomed five members to the company’s newly created board of advisers tasked to guide the company in developing and marketing the platform. The inaugural members have experience working on artificial intelligence, communications, intelligence and training in the military and private sector.

Dunbar has first-hand knowledge of the learning and talent development needs of the government. He previously worked as a department head and instructor at the U.S. Navy and as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Leadership Academy.

Dunbar holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Mexico and a master’s degree in strategic intelligence from the National Defense Intelligence College.

Greg Forrest, Director of AI Foundations at Lockheed Martin

Greg Forrest is the director of artificial intelligence foundations at Lockheed Martin and is a Potomac Officers Club member.

Forrest oversees the development of Lockheed’s AI strategy and an enterprise AI ecosystem. He also leads AI and machine learning teams that develop transformative capabilities for the company and its clients.

The industry veteran also has experience in research and development programs, military development and production, communications and skills development. He specializes in strategy development, team leadership, systems engineering, program and project management, and strategic thinking.

He has been the director of AI foundations since December 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Before assuming his current leadership role, Forrest was an AI senior manager at Lockheed from 2019 to 2020. He was also a senior manager of research and development programs and strategy from 2018 to 2019.

Prior to working at Lockheed Martin, Forrest spent nearly 15 years at the rotor-wing aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky. The roles he held at Sikorsky include manager of intelligent solutions, program manager of the Executive Transport Helicopter program and lead system engineer of the Joint Heavy Lift program.

He started his career in 2003 as an MH-60R systems engineer at Sikorsky.

Forrest holds a Master of Business Administration degree and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Fairfield University.

Lockheed Martin offers aircraft platforms, autonomy and AI, hypersonics, C4ISR, electronic warfare and other products and services. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and has offices within and outside the U.S.

ABOUT POTOMAC OFFICERS CLUB

The Potomac Officers Club is owned and operated by Executive Mosaic. Since 2002, Executive Mosaic has been a leader in media and exclusive senior executive networking programs primarily targeted to the U.S. federal government contracting (GovCon) marketplace. In addition to connecting executives of consequence into a fabric of like minded communities, the company’s growing cross-media platform serves as a leading source of news about the people, policies, trends and events shaping the nation’s GovCon sector.