Mark Johnson
MANAGING PARTNER
Mark Johnson is a seasoned entrepreneur who leverages his forty plus years of federal business experience to help small and mid-sized businesses achieve success in the federal market. Mr. Johnson began his career at General Electric where he developed strong accounting and financial management expertise. He then managed large complex global IT programs for Fortune 500 companies and ultimately achieved the level of Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers. In 2000, he transferred to the Federal practice where he brought global best practices to the Federal market. Several years after IBM acquired PwC (2002), Mr. Johnson was appointed Vice President managing a large practice in the Federal market. Throughout his career he has helped transform business and government through technology. In 2010 Mr. Johnson started what is today Catapult Growth Partners to focus on providing small and mid-sized businesses with the tools and expertise they need to accelerate their business growth and achieve their dreams. ​
​
Tim Spadafore
SENIOR ADVISOR
Tim Spadafore has over 29 years of federal government experience, Tim joins CGP as an
accomplished senior executive with proficiency in business operations, company growth,
engagement management, mergers and acquisitions, corporate staffing, and business
development. Tim has participated in and led four mergers and acquisitions within the past 12
years. Tim has held positions responsible for the day-to-day operations of multiple large
businesses (emerging large, mid-tier, and public), including oversight of multiple strategic
initiatives across the organization including member engagement, growth enablement
strategies, multi-year planning, market engagement, and government relations. Tim has led
measurable improvements averaging double-digit CAGR growth across multiple organizations
while penetrating emerging strategic markets and enterprise program satisfaction. Tim has led
integration of contracts, staff, delivery, and IT through multiple transactions across 4
companies.
Tim was recently the COO of CSA, a Blue Delta Capital Partners, a Private Equity backed
company. Prior to that, Tim served as the senior vice president for CGI Federal Defense,
Intelligence, and Space business unit. He was responsible for all aspects of the business and
growth strategy. Before CGI, Tim was the president and COO for TeraThink, which was
acquired by CGI in 2020. Tim also served as COO of Dominion Consulting prior to its merger
with TeraThink.
Tim has a B.S. in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where is also the vice
chairman of the Lally Management School Leadership Council.
Carlos Otal
SENIOR PARTNER
Carlos is a transformational leader with over thirty years of experience serving government entities spanning a full range of services — from internal and financial statement auditing to organizational and process improvement to the assessment and implementation of enterprise systems, including program management, strategy, acquisition and business model development for clients installing enterprise solutions, implementing custom solutions, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software and cloud-based solutions, or migrating to a shared service provider. He is formerly National Managing Partner of a large Public Sector consulting firm in which he led the acquisition and transition through all aspects of the integration of the firm’s strategy, market development, service delivery, financial performance and talent management.
Fran Vogel
PARTNER
Fran has spent her career in Federal Sales and Business Development working for both large and small businesses in the IT services sector. She is highly experienced in full-lifecycle business development from identification through the capture and proposal process. As an accomplished senior executive with demonstrated success, she has developed strong professional relationships and networks with high-level executives to expand contacts and aid clients in their opportunity pursuits. Her primary focus has been in the Federal Civilian Agencies and since joining Catapult Growth Partners, supported clients in the Civilian and DoD Agencies.
Gerard Biggs
Partner
Gerard is a seasoned sales and business development leader with over 40 years of experience driving revenue growth, executing high-value enterprise software transactions, and leading top-performing sales teams. His expertise is deeply rooted in the Federal Civilian Sector, where he has successfully built strategic relationships and influenced key decision-makers across multiple agencies.
​
Most recently, Gerard held the position of Vice President of Civilian Sales at SAP, where he began his journey in ERP technology. He played a vital role in scaling sales operations and fostering enterprise partnerships at SAP. Before that, he managed the IRS account at ServiceNow, leveraging his extensive industry expertise to drive transformational deals. Prior to his time at ServiceNow, Gerard was the Client Executive for the Department of Veterans Affairs at Oracle, where he led multiple sales teams to deliver Oracle technologies in support of the agency’s mission.
​
Gerard has held both leadership and individual contributor roles throughout his career at globally recognized companies such as IBM, HP, Unisys, and emerging tech startups. His reputation as a strategic and results-oriented executive has shaped enterprise sales strategies and business development initiatives.
Gerard has a B.S. in Business Administration, concentrating in Finance, and holds several technology certifications.
David Hollis
SENIOR PARTNER
David is a proven leader with nearly 30 years of public sector management consulting experience. Before joining Catapult Growth Partners, David served in senior management and executive positions at PwC, IBM, The MITRE Corporation, EY, Grant Thornton, and Guidehouse. David is an accomplished growth leader who helps organizations strengthen business development capabilities, grow, and manage qualified sales pipelines, execute winning proposals, and improve business processes through technology. His federal clients included the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Smithsonian Institution, and the California Public Employees Retirement System.
Cindy Gaddis
PARTNER
Cindy Gaddis, a U.S. Army Veteran, speaker, and co-author of "The Veterans Business Guide," is an experienced executive with demonstrated success in winning, executing, and keeping over $1 billion in federal contracts in the information technology and services industries.
Cindy has 18 years’ experience winning federal government contracts; from marketing, business development, capture, and proposal development, to contract and project management. She is a PMI.org certified Project Management Professional (PMP), National Contract Management Association (NCMA), and United States Army Association (AUSA) lifetime member.
John Durastanti
SENIOR PARTNER
John Durastanti is a senior executive, strategic adviser, and law enforcement technologist who has spent over 25 years in Federal law enforcement, specializing in building long-term strategies to tackle complex criminal networks and focusing a large portion of time on building intelligence processes to focus resources on priority problems. John transitioned to the Head of Business Development and Strategy at Axon, the leading provider of conducted energy devices (Taser), Body Worn Cameras, and Software as a Solution products to law enforcement and DOD agencies. Mr. Durastanti was responsible for developing strategic initiatives, executing business development opportunities, and building executive relationships with Federal clients. Mr. Durastanti was also responsible for identifying, negotiating, and solidifying partnerships with other best-in-class solution companies. In this role, Mr. Durastanti built a team of professionals working across the Federal civilian and defense markets, built a multi-billion-dollar pipeline, and oversaw and created strategies to focus, target, and win business.
Mr. Durastanti holds a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Kent State University and a Master of Professional Studies in Safety and Security Leadership from The George Washington University. Mr. Durastanti also served on the National Crime Gun Intelligence Governing Board, chairing the subcommittee on outreach and feedback. Mr. Durastanti also served as a member of the IACP Homeland Security Subcommittee.
Richard Klemmer
PARTNER
Richard has more than 25 years of leadership and consulting experience in the public and private sectors. He has held positions with the Department of the Army, USDA, and the Department of Commerce before transitioning into the private sector.
​
Mr. Klemmer has extensive knowledge and experience in technology, cyber, agile development, finance, strategy, and mission support. He has held executive positions responsible for Growth, BD, Capture, Delivery, and Operations at small and mid-sized companies. In these capacities, he has generated executive strategies (including budget, acquisitions, and all areas of technology: development, operations, governance, capital planning, budget, transformation, and cybersecurity); business development and capture strategy; account strategy; pipeline development; proposal support (including management, development, review, and writing), providing insight from government evaluation and industry development perspectives; and federal policies and regulations.
Wayne Bobby
SENIOR PARTNER
Wayne has more than 40 years of experience in optimizing federal financial and human capital management processes through the implementation and adoption of several different application software platforms. He began his career with the State Department and held a position as Director of Financial Management Services before taking on a series of VP level positions with application software firms such as Oracle, Infor and Workday.
His career has provided a unique view into the Federal Financial and Human Capital Management business models and their transition to shared services models over the past several decades. He has worked closely with and developed a reputation across the federal CFO/CIO/CHCO community as an expert advisor on applications and technology.
Dale Luddeke
SENIOR PARTNER
Dale Luddeke is a seasoned senior executive with over 25 years of leadership in business growth and operations across federal civilian, defense, and classified markets. Starting as an automated test engineer for defense platforms, Dale advanced to managing technology implementation programs and line organizations, building expertise in business development and strategic capture across various solution development and service delivery platforms. Dale has worked with small to medium-sized businesses and larger entities, including Boeing, Unisys, CSC (now GDIT), CACI, TASC (now SAIC), STG (now SOSi), and Battelle Memorial Institute. With over 15 years of P&L experience, Dale has driven business growth from 30% to 300%. He has successfully transitioned and applied technologies for customers since the mid-1980s, including recent work in cloud-based and AI-based implementations.
​
Dale holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering Technology and a Master's Degree in Engineering & Technology Management from Oklahoma State University. He has also held leadership roles with the American Council on Technology/Industry Advisory Council.
Andy Lieber
PARTNER
Andy has a proven track record of increasing revenue through identifying, qualifying, and capturing opportunities that drive business expansion and increase brand recognition. He is well known in the Federal CIO and CFO communities with connections among executives at VA, GSA, DHS, USDA, HUD, DOC, DOJ, Treasury, EPA, and smaller agencies. Since joining Catapult Growth Partners, he has served clients seeking to grow their businesses in both DoD and Civilian Agencies.
Christina Orticke
PARTNER
Christina brings over 30 years of experience working across a variety of business models, markets and industries to our team, including energy, financial services, technology (financial technology, cybersecurity, RPA/AI/ML, creative technology), PMO and DEIA. She has led the way in growth strategy development and execution, business optimization, and transaction advisory. She is most passionate about working with small and middle-market businesses, providing a full spectrum of business development services from strategic planning and market penetration assessments to pipeline development and teaming, with growth strategies to include JV's and MP's.
Don Ellison
PARTNER
Don Ellison has 33 years of consulting experience primarily in the Federal sector. Early in his consulting career, he established a practice at ICF focused on international programs in public health, health informatics, counter-trafficking, food security, media, and energy/environment across 4 continents. As a Senior Vice President he managed operating groups, served on the corporate board of Macro International, a subsidiary of ICF, and oversaw the international accounts for ICF. He has a strong entrepreneurial focus with a record of building business units and expanding into new clients and sectors.
Caroline Hughes
PARTNER
Caroline is an experienced sales professional with a proven track record of sales and revenue expansion, through crafting complex solutions, customer relationship building and tenacity.
Caroline has a background in software and services and has been successful selling in the Federal Civilian market throughout her career. Caroline has worked in sales and business development in the past with companies including Experian, Lexis Nexis, QinetiQ, General Dynamics and Alion.
Dan McNamara
SENIOR PARTNER
Dan brings over 25 years of expertise driving business growth in the FedCiv Market. Dan has held DHS and cybersecurity leadership positions with multiple marquee companies including Bechtel, Booz Allen Hamilton, Maximus Federal and Sierra Nevada Aerospace. He has closed multi-million dollar deals by building structured go-to-market strategies. He is active in groups like AFCEA NOVA and The Capital Business Development Association. He's a Co-Founder of the Northern Virginia Business Development Group, a Patriot Circle Member of InfraGard and has made presentations at DHS Security Summits. Dan was also a Panel Member at USCYBERCOM’s Dreamport on the topic of ICS Cybersecurity. He is a proud graduate of George Mason University (M.S. Operations Research); and Oneonta State University (B.S. Mathematics & Statistics).
Tom Naphor
PARTNER
Mr. Naphor has more than 25 years of experience in the integration, deployment, and optimization of large, complex Federal Enterprise Application portfolio programs using COTS, Low-code/No-code, and Cloud/SaaS application platforms. Tom has held Senior leadership roles including program, solutions, technology, account, and capture manager positions. He has served in Sr. Business growth advisor and Sr. Business Development Executive roles. With his expertise in business development, tech solutions, and delivery, Tom has held key roles leading to the successful capture of $2.5 Billion in single award, open competitive contracts for small, mid-size, and large government contractors.
Curt Anderson
PARTNER
Curt is an accomplished leader in sales and business development. He has over thirty years of experience in the federal civilian government contracting marketplace, focusing on governmental missions and providing Strategic Business Development, Long-Term Governmental and Industry Partnership Development, and Project/Program Delivery services.
In his prior role as a Strategic Account Executive at Management Concepts, Curt successfully built, won, and maintained learning and training requirements for several Federal Civilian agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor, and Veterans Affairs. His responsibilities included developing new opportunities, expanding current ones, maintaining client relationships, and adapting to changing client needs. Before Management Concepts, Curt spearheaded IT, Cyber, Project Management, and Education growth initiatives for small companies entering the Federal Government Marketplace. He developed strategies, built pipelines, established partnerships, all aligned to mission directives.
Curt holds a B.A. in Computer and Political Science, is a Project Management Professional (PMP), and possesses various certifications. He also serves on several non-profit boards.
Kate Burk
PARTNER
Kate brings more than 20 years of experience driving business growth, leading complex
federal IT transformation programs, and capturing over $1B in contracts across DHS, TSA, NASA, USDA, and other Federal Civilian agencies. Kate’s expertise spans the full business development and program delivery lifecycle, from capture and proposal strategy to transition execution and Agile/DevSecOps delivery. Her leadership roles at organizations including American Systems, ManTech, ASRC Federal, and CSC have positioned her at the intersection of technical innovation and mission delivery. She has built high-performing teams to support cloud modernization, cybersecurity, data center relocation, and ITSM/ITIL optimization efforts for mission-critical programs valued up to $300M and teams of 170+ personnel.
​
At Catapult, Kathleen will take a leading role helping clients identify, shape, and win high-value opportunities—particularly within DHS, TSA, and NASA—by applying her deep domain knowledge, strategic insight, and hands-on capture leadership. She is adept at aligning customer missions with differentiated solutions, embedding AI/ML, RMF-compliant architectures, and agile program governance into every stage of growth and delivery.
​
Kathleen holds an M.S. in MIS from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a B.A. from Carleton College. She is PMP-certified, an ITIL v4 Managing Professional, CMMI Certifies Associate, and a Certified SAFe 5 Practitioner, with an active TS/SCI and Full Scope Poly clearance.
Corbett Landes
PARTNER
Corbett M. Landes is a retired U.S. Army Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Officer who excels at building partnerships across the federal landscape. He has established an extensive network of professionals which he leverages to help his clients in augmenting technical expertise and ensuring their success.
Corbett has developed a reputation for solving the most challenging opportunities throughout his career. He has successfully worked on opportunities spanning advanced intelligence analytics, solution architecture, sentiment analysis, signals intelligence, and software development, cybersecurity, intelligence collection, and data analytics. In prior roles, Corbett led cutting-edge initiatives supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Intelligence Community, MITRE, and multiple Federal Civilian Agencies.
​
Corbett possesses an unmatched passion for success regardless of the opportunity or role. He has successfully navigated and collaborated to support business development, program management, and technical writing. He brings innovation to everything he does and ensures that solutions are strategically aligned with evolving user needs and organizational goals. Whether advising on technology ecosystems, integrating COTS solutions, or driving Agile methodologies, Corbett’s leadership fosters shared values and operational excellence.
​
Corbett is a service-disabled Veteran and amputee and is actively supporting both Veterans and amputees at every opportunity.
Ernie Hinojos
PARTNER
Ernie’s career spans more than 30 years as a military officer and accomplished senior executive in the defense industry. Ernie brings three decades of experience in military intelligence and strategic consulting, having served as a Counterintelligence Team Chief at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and as an Intelligence Officer and commander with the U.S. Army. He has supported small businesses, minority- and veteran-owned enterprises, and clients in the government and private sectors through complex regulatory and operational landscapes. His work includes developing efficiency-driven systems, leading cross-functional teams, and improving project management practices to align with strategic goals. Ernie continues to serve on the intelligence partnership agreement with Guatemala’s Office of National Intelligence on matters of combatting human and drug trafficking and the continued development of the intelligence infrastructure connecting government and international industry.
​
Ernie has earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas in Strategic Defense Intelligence. Graduate internship with the State Department with Eastern European Affairs, and will be applying for doctorship next year with the University of Missouri. He is a life member of the Military Intelligence Association, International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE), and the International Association of Law Enforcement Analysts (IALEIA).
Gerald Ford
PARTNER
Gerald’s career spans 48 years and includes business development support to major corporations, including winning multi-million dollar contracts in DHS. Earlier in his career, Gerald was a program manager for a large Immigration and Customs Enforcement O&M contract with a staff of approximately 100, where he introduced Agile practices and cloud migration strategies. He was also the program manager for several TSA IT programs. Prior to this Gerald was the director of the TSA Technology Solutions Division with a staff of 110 FTE and 200+ contractors. Gerald was responsible for leading the development of the initial operational capability for Secure Flight, satisfying a key 9/11 Commission recommendation. Gerald also served as the Senior Technical Advisor for the TSA CIO.
​
Gerald obtained a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Oakwood University and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University.
James Simpson
PARTNER
James brings 38 years of distinguished service and vast experience to drive growth and
success for our clients in the defense and health sectors. James has served as a
senior military officer, a Senior Executive Service (SES) member, and an accomplished
consultant and board member in the defense sector.
James has demonstrated exceptional leadership expertise throughout his career and
provided strategic, operational, and tactical level acquisition and business advice.
James served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition (DASA) at the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He transitioned eleven agency
telecommunications contracts that support more than 80,000 employees into one GSA
Enterprise Infrastructure Solution task order, saving the Department over $700M.
Additionally, James served as the Senior Procurement Executive for the Defense
Intelligence Agency (DIA). While on active duty, James served as the Commanding
General of the Army Contracting Command (ACC) where he streamlined acquisition
processes and ensured all procurement regulations and policies were followed. He led
and managed a diverse workforce of over 6,200 military, civilian, and foreign national
professionals.
James is a graduate of Lander University, Greenwood, SC. His advanced studies
include multiple Masters level degrees (in Public Administration from Central Michigan
University, National Resource Strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National
Defense University, and Business Administration from the University of Texas at
Arlington). He also holds a certificate in management from the Darden School of
Business, University of Virginia; and a master’s certificate in government contract
management from George Washington University.
Marshall Denney
PARTNER
Marshall Denney is a 27-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where he distinguished himself in Tactical Airborne Electronic Warfare and concluded his military career at U.S. Cyber Command. Following his military service, Marshall amassed over eight years of corporate experience, driving exponential growth across multiple industries.
​
An expert in strategic account management, pipeline development, and the end-to-end business development lifecycle, Marshall has demonstrated success in critical domains including Information Assurance, Information Technology, Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations, Cyberspace Operations, and Training & Readiness. His ability to seamlessly bridge operations, proposals, contracts, and finance has proven instrumental in accelerating organizational growth and achieving competitive advantage.
As a seasoned executive, Marshall has held Vice President roles in companies with annual revenue ranging from under $200 million to over $13 billion. He has led cross-functional teams in diverse, geographically dispersed environments, fostering innovation, creating customer value, and enhancing market positioning in complex technological and cybersecurity landscapes.
​
Marshall is recognized for his unwavering commitment to strategic and operational excellence. He delivers measurable results and enables long-term success in high-value, competitive markets. He is a trusted leader and growth strategist dedicated to advancing the missions of both his clients and the organizations he serves.