Neel Mehta
John Hillen has served as president and CEO of Sotera Defense Solutions since 2008 and also serves on the company’s board of directors.
Hillen, whom GovConExec magazine selected as one of the “Top 20 People to Watch“ in 2012, also currently serves on the chief of naval operations’ executive panel on the board of Applied Communication Sciences Inc.
Our sister site ExecutiveBiz spoke with Hillen for a spotlight interview to discuss Sotera’s performance in 2012, for which it won the GovCon Awards’ Contractor of the Year in the more than $300 million category.
For more of Hillen’s insights into Sotera and the market, click here to read his full spotlight.
Prior to joining Sotera’s executive team, Hillen served in the Bush administration as assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.
At the State Department, Hillen coordinated diplomatic strategy with military operations. He oversaw the department’s policies for weapons removal and abatement, defense trade, military operations and security, among other things.
Hillen’s executive leadership experience includes positions with what is now known as CGI Federal and at American Management Systems Inc., later acquired by CACI International in 2004. At AMS, he was president of the company’s defense and intelligence business.
Hillen also was chief operating officer at Island ECN Inc.
He is a decorated veteran having served 12 years in the Army. During his service, he was a reconnaissance and special operations officer in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In addition, he has previously worked as a military policy expert.
He was also recognized as a 2011 Federal 100 winner and was a finalist for the GovCon Executive of the Year award in 2009.
Hillen is a member of the executive committee of the the board of the Professional Services Council as well as the Young President’s Organization. He serves on a number of philanthropic and non-profit boards as well.
Additionally, Hillen is a life-time member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Council on Foreign Relations.
He has authored and edited several books regarding international security and has been published in dozens of journals. He was a editor at National Review for a time as well as an ABC News commentator. He is also a veteran of several think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation and Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Hillen is a trustee of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Hampden-Sydney College and the Committee on Economic Development.
Hillen earned his doctorate from Oxford. He graduated from Duke University and holds a master’s degree from King’s College London. He received his M.B.A. from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell.
Coverage of Hillen on Executive Mosaic’s websites
New Washington 100 Inductee: John Hillen, Sotera Defense Solutions President and CEO
Sotera Promotes Rick White to CIO: John Hillen Comments
John Hillen: Sequestration Based on “˜Affordability,“™ “˜Indiscriminate“™
Sotera CEO John Hillen Elected PSC Board Chair
Sotera to Assess Future Tech for FBI Criminal Justice Info Sharing; John Hillen Comments
Sotera Names Vangent Vet Jennifer Felix CFO; John Hillen Comments
Sotera Names Booz Allen Vet Laurie Villano Cyber Systems Lead; John Hillen Comments
Sotera to Buy Defense ISR, Cloud Computing Firm; John Hillen Comments
