John Mengucci left Lockheed Martin, where he most recently headed its information systems and global solutions civil product line, to become CACI’s chief operating officer. (Evy Mages/For Capital Business)
Arlington-based government contractor CACI International is bringing in new executives, tapping officials from prominent defense firms like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.
The company is among others in the industry — including McLean-based Science Applications International Corp. — bringing in new faces as top officials retire. General Dynamics last week announced it will promote Phebe N. Novakovic to president and chief operating officer. The leadership changes come at a dynamic time for the industry, with companies positioning themselves for an era of reduced government spending.
Late last year, CACI announced that William M. Fairl, president of U.S. operations and a 25-year employee, would retire in the fall of 2012.
Fairl moved to chief development officer and Daniel D. Allen, a Northrop Grumman executive hired last year as chief operating officer, assumed the role of president of U.S. operations. To replace Allen, John Mengucci — who had worked at Lockheed Martin for 20 years, most recently as the head of its information systems and global solutions civil product line — was hired this year as chief operating officer.
Mengucci also joins Krisstie Kondrotis, hired as vice president for business development late last year. Kondrotis came from General Dynamics, but also spent 20 years at Lockheed Martin.
“I think it’s an important sign CACI’s getting to be a big company now,” said William Loomis, managing director at Stifel Nicolaus, which has a business relationship with CACI. “Clearly, you have to start operating and having that expertise now.”
CACI posted revenue of almost $3.6 billion in fiscal 2011, and Loomis said he expects its 2012 revenue to hit nearly $4 billion. For comparison, Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor, posted sales of $46.5 billion in 2011.
Mengucci, who started at CACI about two weeks ago, said the contractor’s size was part of its appeal.
At CACI, “there’s a lot of focus on growth and where the market’s going and some of the quick-turn changes we need to make,” he said. “It’s my feeling that — with a strong management team — it’s maybe a little more agile.”
Unlike some of the larger contractors, CACI has avoided revenue and profit declines. In its most recent earnings report last month, the company announced revenue reached $973 million, up 12.2 percent from the same quarter a year earlier, while profit grew to $41 million ($1.51 a share), a 23.5 percent increase.
Allen noted that uncertainty within the industry has helped the company’s hiring, making it easier to find highly qualified people.
“We have tremendous opportunity to go be successful in the marketplace,” he said.