Leadership

Kevin McAleenan

Chief Executive Officer, Board Member

Kevin most recently served as President of BigBear.ai, where he led teams offering cutting edge computer vision, simulation and modeling, with digital identity tools to support customers critical security and operational decisions. Kevin co-founded and led Pangiam as CEO and Chair of the Board until its acquisition by BigBear.ai, developing cutting edge biometric and AI products for security applications, for both government agencies and commercial customers.

Kevin brings experience from almost two decades of leadership in the U.S. Government to his role. He was the first career civil servant to be appointed and confirmed as Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2018, and he served most recently as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Donald Trump, where he led over 240,000 employees and oversaw operations at CBP, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Secret Service, and others.

His past experiences include implementing innovations to the U.S. international arrival and departure process, developing comprehensive counterterrorism and risk management strategies, and overseeing the implementation of the U.S. government’s single window for international trade, a project that spanned over 4-dozen agencies. Kevin received several awards for his service and leadership including a Presidential Rank Award—the nation’s highest civil service award, a Service to America Medal, and multiple awards from travel and trade industry groups.

Carl Napoletano

Chief Operating Officer

Carl Napoletano previously served as Vice President of Special Projects at BigBear.ai, where he led the integration of major acquisitions, including Pangiam. Previously, he led BigBear.ai’s portfolio of critical decision support solutions, serving over 300,000 users across the U.S. Army and various government agencies. Prior to joining BigBear.ai, Carl served as Principal and Senior Vice President at ProModel Corporation, leading the development of mission-critical decision support solutions for the Department of Defense, and in 2020, he led the acquisition of ProModel Government Solutions by BigBear.ai. He also previously held leadership positions in Engineering and New Business Development at General Dynamics Electric Boat, focusing on delivering combat systems for nuclear submarines. Carl earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Carolyn Blankenship

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Carolyn Blankenship is the General Counsel and Secretary of BigBear.ai. Carolyn leads the legal function at BigBear.ai, providing strategic input to drive the organization’s growth and long-term success. Carolyn has over thirty years’ experience advising companies on achieving business objectives in an emerging technology environment and joins BigBear.ai from Thomson Reuters, where she worked since 2001 and was most recently General Counsel, Product & Innovation. Carolyn’s practice has focused on various legal aspects of artificial intelligence, and she has lectured on this subject at Princeton, Penn Law and the Practicing Law Institute, among others. She is also an Observer to the Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI).

Carolyn earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard College and her J.D from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Sean Ricker

Chief Financial Officer

Sean Ricker is the Chief Financial Officer at BigBear.ai. In this role, he leads the organization’s accounting, finance, and systems functions. Sean brings extensive experience partnering with executive management to develop and deploy financial strategies that strengthen BigBear.ai’s financial position, improve performance, and expand into new areas. Prior to joining BigBear.ai, he served in accounting and reporting roles at Lockheed Martin Corporation and is a certified public accountant.

Jo Ann Bjornson

Chief Human Resources Officer

Jo Ann Bjornson is a human resources executive with an accomplished record of leading organizations through transformations and accelerating business growth. Named as one of WashingtonExec’s “HR Executives to Watch” since 2022, Jo Ann is known for working closely with stakeholders at all levels and functions to align talent strategies with current and future business needs.

Over her 25-year career in human resources, Jo Ann has held a variety of positions in professional and technical services within federal contracting and commercial markets. As a Chief Human Resources Officer, Jo Ann designs strategies to address talent needs and builds differentiators to enable growth for the business.

Leaders turn to Jo Ann for her proven ability to think outside-the-box, translate a company’s vision into a roadmap for success and create positive change. Keeping an eye toward the future, Jo Ann introduces new programs, processes, and technical capabilities that holistically evolve a company for sustained growth. She drives results through data insights, people leadership and cultivating cultures where diverse and geographically dispersed workforces feel connected, valued, and empowered to collaborate and innovate.

Transformation is what Jo Ann does best, having led multibillion-dollar organizations through significant change while ensuring the workforce was supported and able to excel. At V2X, she was responsible for integrating a $4B global company built from recently merged entities. During her career at SAIC and Leidos, Jo Ann led through transitions to relocate the corporate headquarters, split the company into two successful ones, and integrate acquired companies. She is known for streamlining functions for greater effectiveness and profitability; and reshaping critical programs and structures to motivate a large workforce to meet business targets.

Jo Ann holds an Executive MBA from the University of Maryland, a Master’s in Human Resources Management from Marymount University, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia. She is a strong advocate for developing future leaders and providing opportunities for underserved communities. She has served as Chair for the WashingtonExec HR Council, a member of the Workforce and Education Executive Committee with the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Executive Sponsor for the Leidos Asian-Pacific Islander Network Employee Resource Group and President and member of the Board of Directors for the Northern Virginia Society for Human Resource Management.

Alex Thompson

Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

Alex is Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for BigBear.ai, building and defending trust. He leads strategic communications, government affairs, and marketing. Previously, Alex served as President of Global Practices & Sectors for Edelman, the world’s leading independent communications firm. He also served as Global Chair of Corporate Affairs. Before that, Alex was Chief Communications Officer for Thomson Reuters, the leading information and software company. His role included oversight of government and regulatory affairs.

Alex chairs the annual Reuters Responsible Business Awards, serves as an adviser to the Council on Global Competition and Innovation, and is a member of the Arthur Page Society. He grew up in the UK and has lived and worked in the U.S. for 15 years.

Robert “Weeds” Wedertz

Senior Vice President – Growth

Robert “Weeds” Wedertz is the Senior Vice President – Growth at BigBear.ai. In this role he is responsible for steering BigBear.ai’s market expansion and fostering client relationships through the application of groundbreaking solutions and services to myriad clients across the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Intelligence Community, other Federal/Civilian agencies, and Commercial Markets. Prior to joining BigBear.ai he held roles as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at multiple Fed/Civ Government Contracting firms supporting the DoD, IC, HHS, and the Department of Education. “Weeds” is a former Naval Aviator and spent 26 years in uniform flying the FA-18 in multiple combat deployments, retiring in 2012. Upon retirement, he joined ProModel Corporation and led the Navy and Marine Corps business units and was subsequently charged with leading all National Security growth and delivery. In 2016 he was tasked with leading the design, development, and implementation of the ORION Decision Support Platform, a DoD-wide Global Force Management decision support tool used to inform operational and contingency plan assessments, enable the Global Force Management Data Initiative (GFM-DI), and augment the OPS/DEPs, CJCS Tanks, and the Strategic Seminar Series. In 2020, when ProModel was acquired by BigBear.ai, he was asked to lead Corporate Federal Growth and Delivery and supported multiple corporate integration initiatives culminating in BigBear.ai’s IPO on the NYSE in 2021. Weeds received his BS from the United States Naval Academy and his MBA from the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School and currently resides in Virginia Beach, VA.