Leadership

Kevin McAleenan is the Chief Executive Officer of BigBear.ai, a specialized security and defense-technology company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in Tysons, Virginia. He leads the company's strategic vision and operations across BigBear.ai’s core markets: National Security and Trade & Travel. Kevin co-founded and led Pangiam as CEO and Chair of the Board until its acquisition by BigBear.ai, developing advanced biometric and AI products for 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 served 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 achievements include implementing innovations to U.S. international arrival and departure processes, developing comprehensive counterterrorism strategies, and overseeing the U.S. government's single window for international trade spanning over 40 agencies. Kevin has received recognition including the Presidential Rank Award, a Service to America Medal, Wash100, and multiple industry awards. He is a council member of the Council on Global Competition and Innovation (CGCI).

Carl Napoletano is Chief Operating Officer of BigBear.ai. With more than 35 years of experience in engineering, defense technology, decision support, and operational leadership, he oversees company-wide operations and leads the Digital Twin Solutions business unit.

Previously, Carl served as Vice President of Special Projects at BigBear.ai, where he led the integration of major acquisitions and managed the company's portfolio of 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 solutions for the Department of War. In 2020, he led the acquisition of ProModel Government Solutions by BigBear.ai. He 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 is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for BigBear.ai. She leads the legal function, providing strategic counsel to drive organizational growth and long-term success. Carolyn brings over thirty years of experience advising companies on achieving business objectives in emerging technology environments.

Carolyn joined BigBear.ai from Thomson Reuters, where she worked since 2001 and most recently served as General Counsel, Product & Innovation. Her 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. Carolyn attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 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 is the Chief Financial Officer for BigBear.ai. He leads the organization's accounting, finance, and systems functions, bringing 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, Sean held accounting and reporting roles at Lockheed Martin Corporation, MorganFranklin Consulting, and Aprio.

He is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland – Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Jo Ann Bjornson is the Chief Human Resources Officer for BigBear.ai. She leads the company's HR strategy and talent development, bringing more than 25 years of experience in public companies with a focus on technology-driven and federal contracting organizations, including V2X, SAIC, and Leidos.

In previous roles, Jo Ann led large-scale business transformations and enterprise workforce initiatives across complex, regulated environments. She has been recognized by WashingtonExec as an "HR Executive to Watch" and has served as Chair of the WashingtonExec HR Council and a member of the Workforce and Education Executive Committee for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

Jo Ann holds an Executive MBA from the University of Maryland, a Master of Arts in Human Resources Management from Marymount University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia.

Alex Thompson is the Chief Corporate Affairs Officer for BigBear.ai. He leads strategic communications, government affairs, and marketing, building and defending trust across the organization's stakeholder ecosystem.

Previously, Alex served as President of Global Practices & Sectors for Edelman, the world's leading independent communications firm, where 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, with oversight of government and regulatory affairs. Alex chairs the annual Reuters Responsible Business Awards, and serves as an adviser to the Council on Global Competition and Innovation (CGCI).

Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Leeds. He grew up in the UK and has lived and worked in the U.S. for 15 years.

Jim McLaughlin is the Chief Innovation Officer for BigBear.ai. He drives technology innovation across BigBear.ai integrating capabilities across the company's core markets of National Security and Trade & Travel.

Jim previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Pangiam, leading all technology products including biometrics, facial recognition, anomaly detection, and computer vision solutions until its acquisition by BigBear.ai. Before joining Pangiam, he served as Deputy Chief Information Officer and Chief Software Officer at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), where he led approximately 5,000 personnel supporting 328 ports of entry and global operations, ensuring secure processing of over one million daily border crossings and business processing for over 40 million containers annually.

Jim also served as Executive Director of CBP's Targeting and Analysis Systems Program Directorate, providing leadership for national security systems supporting DHS and Federal agencies. He received numerous Commissioner's awards, including the Diana Dean and Jose Melendez-Perez Anti-Terrorism Award and the Trade and Facilitation Award. Jim holds a degree from Virginia Tech and a Master's Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.

Alex Shea is the Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy for BigBear.ai. He partners with the CEO and executive team to drive the company's highest-priority initiatives across the business and leads its strategy and corporate development functions including M&A. Alex has more than a decade of experience bringing emerging technologies to market in complex, highly regulated industries as an operator, investor, and product leader.

Before joining BigBear.ai, he served as a Principal on the technology innovation and investment team at Roivant Sciences, where he focused on company creation, portfolio company growth, and new investments in data and AI. Earlier, he was a member of the senior leadership team at Detect, a venture-backed biotechnology company, and led international product teams at IBM Watson that developed and commercialized some of IBM's earliest AI-enabled solutions.

Alex holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Philosophy and Pre-Medical Sciences from Trinity College-Hartford.

Robert “Weeds” Wedertz leads the company’s national security portfolio with responsibility for profit and loss, growth, and strategic delivery, across Defense, Homeland Security & Law Enforcement, Intelligence, and International Defense.

A former Naval Aviator, Wedertz spent 26 years in the United States Navy, flying the FA‑18 in multiple combat deployments, retiring in 2012. He previously held roles as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at government contracting firms. In 2016, he was tasked with leading the design, development, and implementation of a DoD-wide Global Force Management decision support tool, the ORION Decision Support Platform. ORION is still the centerpiece of Global Force Management course of action analysis and assessments today.

At ProModel Corporation, he led Navy and Marine Corps business units and National Security delivery. He was later given responsibility for all National Security growth and delivery. When ProModel was acquired by BigBear.ai in 2020, he led Corporate Federal Growth and Delivery and supported integration initiatives culminating in BigBear.ai’s NYSE IPO in 2021.

Weeds holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.

Troy Miller leads the Homeland & Law Enforcement team for BigBear.ai. He leads strategic growth and solution delivery across homeland security, border protection, and law enforcement agencies, bringing more than three decades of experience in law enforcement and counterterrorism.

Troy previously served as Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), commanding the nation’s largest law enforcement agency with nearly 67,000 employees. He spearheaded the federal government’s fight against the fentanyl epidemic, targeting transnational criminal organizations and dismantling illicit supply chains. He directed new regulations for increased supply chain visibility while facilitating secure and efficient cross-border trade.

Earlier, Troy served as CBP’s Director of Field Operations for the New York Field Office, leading nearly 3,000 personnel in counterterrorism and trade enforcement. As Executive Director of the National Targeting Center, he led over 800 experts conducting intelligence analysis to mitigate national security threats. In 2018, he established the National Vetting Center to enhance border security. Troy received the Department of Homeland Security’s Distinguished Service Medal and Presidential Rank Awards in 2016 and 2021.

Troy holds dual bachelor’s degrees from Bemidji State University and is a Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Fellows Program alumnus.

Joe Kelleher leads the Intelligence team for BigBear.ai. He leads strategic growth and solution delivery across the Intelligence Community, bringing extensive experience in operational leadership, federal business development, and government contract administration.

Prior to joining BigBear.ai, Joe held senior business development and program leadership roles at Janes, VT Group, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, The Wexford Group, and Raytheon, where he expanded federal market presence across the Intelligence Community, delivering critical national security solutions and strategic intelligence advisory services.

Joe holds a Master’s Degree in International Service from American University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Curry College.

Ryan Legge leads the Defense team for BigBear.ai. He leads strategic growth and solution delivery across the Department of War, bringing over 20 years of experience in business development, program leadership, and domain expertise in Global Force Management and Mission Readiness, supporting operators across the United States Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Intelligence Community.

Ryan has extensive experience across the full lifecycle of information technology project delivery, large-scale business development, and account management. His expertise spans both buy and sell-side mergers and acquisitions, organizational design, and company integration. His technical specialties include process improvement, enterprise management, and business intelligence solutions. Ryan was named a 2022 WashingtonExec Pinnacle Award Finalist for AI Executive of the Year in the Public Sector.

Ryan holds a Master of Business Administration in Management Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from McDaniel College.

Jason Layman leads the GenAI Platforms & Products team for BigBear.ai.

Previously, Jason served as SVP Strategy & Corporate Development for BigBear.ai, leading the Corporate Development function. Before joining BigBear.ai, Jason managed the Defense & National Security business at SMX and held business development and strategy roles at Accenture Federal Services, where he supported major federal programs and helped build the firm’s federal cyber practice. Earlier, he co-founded Avascent Analytics, a defense-investment platform acquired by Montagu/Janes in 2020.

Jason holds a Master of Arts in German and European Studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and German Studies from Davidson College.

Mark Gallagher leads the Trade & Travel Solutions team for BigBear.ai, including the design and delivery of solutions tailored to address unique customer requirements in global trade and travel, utilizing advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence technologies.

Mark brings more than 30 years of experience leading global teams in technology and professional services organizations through periods of rapid change. He has held senior leadership positions in the air transport industry with SITA and Amadeus, working across the globe to deliver innovative solutions for international travel and border management.

David Smason leads the CargoSeer business, delivering AI-powered customs and border security solutions to government agencies and commercial enterprises worldwide.

At CargoSeer, he built a mission-driven team revolutionizing customs control with cutting-edge artificial intelligence, creating a fraud detection platform leveraging multi-sensor inputs from documents and x-ray imagery to optimize customs operations.

He joined BigBear.ai following the company’s acquisition of CargoSeer assets in January 2026, a company which he founded and led as CEO since 2023.

David holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government and has served in multiple international national security and defense roles.

Carl Napoletano is Chief Operating Officer of BigBear.ai. With more than 35 years of experience in engineering, defense technology, decision support, and operational leadership, he oversees company-wide operations and leads the Digital Twin Solutions business unit.

 Previously, Carl served as Vice President of Special Projects at BigBear.ai, where he led the integration of major acquisitions and managed the company's portfolio of 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 solutions for the Department of War. In 2020, he led the acquisition of ProModel Government Solutions by BigBear.ai. He 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.