John Hillen - President and Chief Executive Officer
President and Chief Executive Officer
John Hillen has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc., formerly Global Defense Technology & Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTEC), since 2008 and is Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to joining the company and then taking it public in 2009, Dr. Hillen served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. Prior to that, Dr. Hillen was President of what is now CGI Federal Inc., a federal IT services company that is a subsidiary of CGI Inc (NYSE: GIB), a Canadian IT services firm. Prior to that Dr. Hillen led the defense and intelligence business at American Management Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMSY), which was sold to CACI International, Inc. in 2004.
From 2000 to 2002, Dr. Hillen served as a Vice President and then Chief Operating Officer of Island ECN Inc., a capital markets firm in New York City. Prior to that, Dr. Hillen spent 12 years as an officer in the U.S. Army in both conventional and special operations units and has been decorated for his actions in combat. He has held positions in several public policy research institutes and is the author/co-author of several books and numerous journal articles on international security affairs that have been published in Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. Dr. Hillen currently serves as a trustee at several non-profit institutions and is a member of the board of directors of Applied Communications Sciences. He also serves on the federal advisory commission for the U.S. Navy, having been appointed to that position by the Secretary of Defense in 2007. A government contracting industry leader, Dr. Hillen is a member of the executive committee of the board of the Professional Services Council and is a 2011 recipient of the “Fed 100” award from Federal Computer Week magazine.
Dr. Hillen received a B.A. in Policy Studies/History from Duke University, an M.A. degree in Defense Studies from King’s College, London University, a D.Phil. in International Relations from Oxford University and an M.B.A. from Cornell University.
Ronald C. Jones - EVP, Corporate Strategy & Development
Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Development and Member of the Board of Directors
Ron Jones is responsible for driving the strategy and accelerating the growth and corporate development of Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc. (Sotera) and is a member of Sotera’s Board of Directors. Mr. Jones is the primary visionary, architect and energy behind Sotera's establishment, growth and transformation, starting with the acquisition of SFA, Inc. in February 2007. Mr. Jones initiated, led and closed the SFA transaction, and then singlehandedly set out to establish and recruit a high caliber Board of Directors while attracting and hiring key talent to strengthen the company’s senior leadership and business development teams. In 2009, Mr. Jones was the driving force behind the IPO of SFA, Inc. - who changed it’s name to Global Defense Technology & Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: GTEC) - in November , and managed the follow on acquisitions closed by GTEC in the Intelligence Community, before the strategic sale of GTEC to Ares Management, that created Sotera. Mr. Jones continues to champion the growth and evolution of Sotera as a leading agile, innovative, mid-tier force in the national security community.
Before joining Sotera, Mr. Jones was the Senior Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development, and a member of the board of directors for Gray Hawk Systems, Inc. Mr. Jones was the primary force behind the build and transformation of Gray Hawk as a national security technology company, improving organizational effectiveness, hiring key talent in the leadership ranks, and closing add on acquisitions. Finally Mr. Jones initiated, led, developed and closed the strategic sale of Gray Hawk Systems to ManTech (NASDAQ: MANT), helping to launch ManTech into the counterterrorism community.
Before Gray Hawk Systems, Mr. Jones was Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Development for Veridian (NYSE: VNX). He was the chief architect behind Veridian’s growth strategy and the leader and driver behind the highly-charged Veridian Mergers & Acquisitions program that, for over eight years, propelled the company through renewal, transformation, accelerated growth, an IPO and a highly valuated strategic sale to General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).
Mr. Jones formerly served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and holds a B.S. in Engineering from the US Naval Academy and an M.B.A. from Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.