Highlight Technologies, a leading federal IT services government contractor, has hired Aarish Gokaldas as its new CEO, starting immediately. Mr. Gokaldas is a government contracting industry executive with two decades of experience serving national security and federal civilian clients. Mr. Gokaldas succeeds Highlight’s founder and current CEO Rebecca Andino, who has served in this role for the past 15 years. Ms. Andino will continue serving as Highlight’s Chairperson of its Board of Directors.
Mr. Gokaldas is the founder and former CEO of The Eclipse Network, a firm providing growth strategy and business development consulting to firms in the defense and intelligence sectors. He also recently served as the Chief Growth Officer for Applied Information Systems, delivering cloud adoption, application modernization, and data intelligence to commercial and federal clients. Prior to that, Mr. Gokaldas served as the CEO and Chief Growth Officer of OGSystems, an intelligence and defense contractor known for its rapid growth and transformation from a small to a large company through performance on MOJAVE and other Intelligence Community contracts. Aarish created and implemented a long-term strategy to continue OGSystems’ growth in a sustainable and focused way without sacrificing its commitment to culture or employee welfare, culminating in its acquisition by Parsons in 2019. At Parsons, he served as EVP of its Space and Geospatial Solutions Business Unit, where he led the P&L of a $300M portfolio, as well as the capture, proposal, and award of a 10-year, $300M security services contract within the IC. Prior to joining industry, Mr. Gokaldas served as an Intelligence Officer supporting the Defense Intelligence Agency.
“I am thrilled to join Highlight,” said Mr. Gokaldas. “Rebecca and team have done a phenomenal job on building this company the right way – with a three-part focus on client mission, employee well-being, and an infrastructure built to accommodate rapid growth. I look forward to working with the leadership team and employees as we continue to put our clients’ missions front and center.”
The Highlight independent Board of Directors selected Mr. Gokaldas for his successful track record driving growth in the mid-tier space and increasing corporate value for the firms he has served. The Board is looking to leverage Mr. Gokaldas’ knowledge and relationships in the defense and intelligence communities, his experience using acquisitions for strategic growth, and his business development experience as a former Chief Growth Officer.
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