GovCon is full of rules, red tape and make-or-break moments—but how do you go from a rookie struggling with acronyms to a rockstar closing deals and leading strategy? "Rookies to Rockstars" is the podcast where industry experts share the advice they wish they had starting out.
Co-hosts Amanda Ziadeh and Camille Tuutti bring on GovCon leaders who get real about the lessons, missteps and strategies that shaped their success. In 20-minute episodes, guests break down what they’ve learned about winning contracts, building relationships and navigating the GovCon world.
Whether you’re figuring out your next career move or setting your sights on the C-suite, these leaders share the hard-won advice they wish they knew earlier—how to manage risk, lead with confidence and make decisions that drive real impact in GovCon.
Kevin Heald on Why Doing Your Job Well is Only the Beginning
Kevin Heald learned early that doing your job well is only part of the equation. A missed promotion taught him to look beyond his own project. Building a company taught him how quickly a lost contract can put a team’s future at risk. In this episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," Heald, who most recently served as senior managing director and defense and intelligence portfolio lead at Accenture Federal Services, joins WashingtonExec’s Amanda Ziadeh to share the lessons behind his career in GovCon...
5 Jun 2026
Stepping Into the Unknown: Ross O’Rourke’s Rise to CEO
Ross O’Rourke didn’t set out to run a company. Like many in national security, he followed the openings in front of him and said yes to things he wasn’t sure he could pull off. The technical work came first. The leadership came later, once he could see where both the mission and the market were going. On this episode of “Rookies to Rockstars,” hosts Amanda Ziadeh and Camille Tuutti talk with O’Rourke about building Crimson Phoenix, what it actually takes to scale a mission-driven company and ...
13 May 2026
She Was 18, Had No Mentor and Accidentally Joined the NSA. The Rest Got More Interesting From There.
Dr. Yolanda Reid didn't choose national security. She had a competing offer from a pharmaceutical company and picked the National Security Agency because the scheduling lined up better with school. She was 18. She didn't know the difference between the two industries. She just knew someone would pay for college. In this episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," hosts Amanda Ziadeh and Camille Tuutti sit down with Reid, vice president of cybersecurity at the MIL Corp., on what it looks like to ...
15 Apr 2026
When Opportunity (or the CIA) Calls, Say Yes Early and Figure it Out Later: Lessons from Mario Orsini
Security may be high stakes, but building a career in it isn’t always a straight line. In this episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," hosts Camille Tuutti and Amanda Ziadeh sit down with Mario Orsini, vice president of security at Nightwing, to talk about the unconventional path that led him from a criminal justice degree to a surprise CIA recruitment call and into the world of national security. Orsini shares what he wishes he knew early on, including why the security field is “a lot smaller tha...
15 Dec 2025
Ben Buckley Built His Career by Stepping Into Uncertainty—and Staying There
The first lie you believe early in your career is that everyone else knows what they’re doing. Ben Buckley didn’t. Trained as a biochemist, he walked away from medicine, pushed into technology without the “right” background and took risks that made sense only if you cared more about learning than comfort. What he figured out early is what most people learn late: uncertainty comes with the work, not incompetence. In the latest episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," Amanda Ziadeh talks with the GDI...
2 Dec 2025
What Happens When You Mix a Technologist with a Soldier? You Get a CIO Like John Pisano
Few CIOs can say their careers grew in two worlds at once. For John Pisano, building an IT career while serving in the Army Reserve shaped a leadership style rooted in structure, resilience and a drive to solve hard problems with purpose. That dual path started early. John’s curiosity for technology pushed him to take apart computers long before he studied IT, and his service taught him discipline and adaptability that carried into every role that followed. Over nearly three decades in unifor...
17 Nov 2025
Be Bold, Seen & Invaluable: Garry Schwartz Transforms his Military Mission to Industry Success
Garry Schwartz didn’t begin his career in a boardroom, or even at an intern's desk, for that matter. He joined the military just in time to spend his 18th birthday at boot camp as a kid seeking structure and a purpose beyond himself. Turned out, it was exactly what Garry needed. After serving 21 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Garry left with a passion for mission, children and a wife to support and a deep understanding of the defense world. That's when he transitioned to industry. His path w...
12 Nov 2025
From Airman to Intel Leadership: How David Guffey Built the Knowledge Base for a Career in GovTech
David Guffey's trajectory wasn't necessarily thought out. In fact, he mostly searched "for that next opportunity." Once an Airman, guardsman and reservist, what began as a way to serve and see the world in the U.S. Air Force turned into a lifelong journey of learning, leadership and innovation. On this week’s "Rookies to Rockstars," Amanda Ziadeh is joined by David Guffey, director of U.S. Special Operations Command and Intelligence Community Accounts at Intel Corp., to talk about how adaptab...
28 Oct 2025
How an $18K Job and a Missed Deadline Shaped Microsoft’s Heidi Kobylski into a Federal Tech Leader
Heidi Kobylski didn’t start out in tech or business. She started out helping women rebuild their lives in transitional housing in Baltimore. The work was meaningful, but it also revealed something else: She wanted to create impact in a different way. On this week’s "Rookies to Rockstars," Amanda Ziadeh and Camille Tuutti sit down with Heidi Kobylski, U.S. federal civilian leader at Microsoft, to talk about risk, reinvention and how she built her career one leap at a time. Today, Heidi leads A...
7 Oct 2025
'Your Career Is Your Own': How Amy Foy Learned to Lead, Ask & Grow
Amy Foy didn’t wait for someone to hand her a career plan. Fresh out of college, she joined a leadership program that promised structure and direction. But when it ended, she realized no one was going to chart the next step. If she wanted a career, she’d have to build it herself. Today, Amy is vice president for contracts and supply chain at Nightwing, leading complex transformation efforts across defense and intelligence missions. Along the way, she’s learned that success isn’t about titles ...
30 Sept 2025
What 'Suits' Gets Wrong About the Law (and What Saul Goodman Gets Right), According to Jim Rittinger
Don’t believe everything you see on TV. Courtrooms aren’t stages for finger-pointing theatrics — and if you try that in real life, you’ll probably get tossed out. On this week’s "Rookies to Rockstars," Amanda Ziadeh and Camille Tuutti sit down with Jim Rittinger, general counsel and corporate secretary at Empower AI. Jim spent a decade grinding 3,000 billable hours a year at a top litigation firm before becoming one of the youngest general counsels Ross Perot ever hired. Along the way, he: Le...
23 Sept 2025
Fail Fast, Lead Bold: What Andrzej Gorski Learned as Employee One
Quit the safety net. Andrzej Gorski walked away from a stable job to become employee one at a brand-new startup — no contracts or guarantees. That leap taught him the mindset he still has today: Fail fast, fail often, and keep moving. Now, he’s senior vice president of electronic systems at Two Six Technologies, running one of the company’s fastest-growing units. His leadership style is simple: protect your people, communicate clearly, and never stop reinventing how teams work. In this episod...
16 Sept 2025
Confident Connections: John Hart Conquers Imposter Syndrome Through Networking
What happens when a finance analyst bets on himself and pivots into business development leadership? In this episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," Amanda Ziadeh and Camille Tuutti sit down with John Hart, executive vice president and chief growth officer at Agile Defense, to find out. John shares how flexibility became his secret weapon as he moved from crunching numbers to driving capture and growth strategies for major government contractors. He opens up about the risks that reshaped his caree...
9 Sept 2025
Beyond the Beakers: Michael Polmar Merges Science with Strategic Success
Michael Polmar didn’t plan on GovCon. He started as a chemistry major who loved science, broke more than a little lab glassware, and thought research was his future. Four years in, he swapped experiments for programs — and discovered he liked leading people and solving business problems even more. That pivot launched a 30-year career across defense and intel, building and running growth engines for some of the industry’s biggest names. Michael has learned what few will say out loud: growth is...
2 Sept 2025
Breaking the Code: How Aimee Dalton Built a Career in GovCon Starting with a Spiral Notebook
Aimee Dalton didn’t picture herself in defense. She came in as a junior analyst with a fresh MBA, a spiral notebook and zero clue what GovCon acronyms meant. Promotions didn’t silence the doubt — every new role started with I can’t do this and ended a week later with actually, I can crush this. Fast forward 22 years, and Aimee is chief of staff to the president at SBA. Think part Olivia Pope, part firefighter— the fixer everyone calls when the mission (or the carpet in the conference ro...
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