NorthWind Partners Fills Senior Role for Apogee Engineering
May 12, 2025 – Reston, VA-headquartered executive search firm NorthWind Partners has recruited Peter Brady as vice president of growth at Apogee Engineering in Colorado Springs, CO. Director Jonathan Rice and executive search consultant Alexander Pisani led the assignment.
Mr. Brady most recently served as chief growth officer and part of the executive team with Barbaricum. In this role, he was tasked with supporting tactical and strategic growth objectives. Prior to that, Mr. Brady served as senior vice president of growth for QBE, responsible for leading strategic and tactical growth. Before this, he served as chief growth officer for TekSynaps. Mr. Brady formerly served as chief growth officer for BlueWater Federal Solutions. During his career, he also gained experience serving in senior positions with C5 Global Solutions, Intelligent Decisions, ManTech, Merlin International, and Cisco Systems.
In his new position with Apogee Engineering, Mr. Brady has a focus on growth and rapidly expanding market footprint. With over 35 years of combined professional and Army experience, he specializes in transforming multi-faceted organizational expansion strategies. His expertise drives growth operations across various domains, including IT, cyber, C5ISR (command, control, computers, communications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), mission systems, operations, digital solutions, and global enterprise process innovation.
Apogee Engineering was founded on the commitment of making a positive difference regardless of venue, agenda or personality. The company specializes in delivering advanced engineering, cybersecurity, and technology solutions to defense, intelligence, and federal civilian agencies. In May 2024, Apogee Engineering was acquired by Bernhard Capital Partners, a private equity firm.
NorthWind Partners is a global, strategic executive search advisory firm. Its work is primarily focused on business and professional services, systems, solutions, and product companies spanning the aviation, aerospace and defense, healthcare, industrial, and technology sectors. The firm also has deep experience and relationships in the government contracting arena. NorthWind Partners’ success rate on engaged assignments is about 96 percent with 99 percent of executives placed maintaining a minimum tenure of one year.
Mr. Rice is an experienced executive recruiter and engagement lead at NorthWind overseeing full life-cycle projects and teams across healthcare, technology, business services, government, aerospace and defense, and industrials. He provides expertise across all facets of executive search to include project due diligence, recruiting, negotiation, client management, and business development. Mr. Rice partners with a diverse client-base and endeavors to build and develop effective leadership teams at the board, C-suite, and senior executive levels. Prior to his career in executive search, Mr. Rice spent 16 years in higher education, serving at Florida State University, Virginia Tech, and Georgetown University. As a hiring manager at Georgetown, Mr. Rice was responsible for recruiting, training, and management of a team of up to 27 direct reports.
Related: NorthWind Partners Recruits CFO for Red River
Throughout the full executive search lifecycle, Mr. Pisani partners with clients in the aerospace, aviation, defense, and government service markets to place top talent across the globe. Prior to joining NorthWind Partners, he was an executive search practitioner at a boutique firm, where he focused on placements at leading companies in the aerospace, MRO, and space industries. Mr. Pisani spent the early portion of his career as an operations and program management consultant to the Federal government, delivering financial, business, and change management solutions to civilian agencies.
Past Assignment
NorthWind Partners recently assisted Empower AI in the recruitment of seasoned IT executive Katie Sutton as vice president of federal civilian. Ms. Sutton brings in more than 20 years of experience on delivering technology requirements to government clients. The new role calls for providing and expanding the company’s services supporting civilian agencies’ mission objectives.
Leading and Scaling with Talent
Talent has become the cornerstone of value creation in private equity, shaping the success of portfolio companies and driving superior returns. As traditional levers like financial engineering and cost optimization face diminishing returns, private equity firms are increasingly focused on leadership and operational excellence to unlock growth. The role of talent leaders has never been more critical—they are the architects of transformative strategies, aligning people and processes to maximize organizational potential and achieve sustainable scalability.
Hunt Scanlon Media is convening hundreds of operating partners, chief talent officers, and executive recruiters at the Harvard Club in New York on May 15, 2025. We will examine the vital role talent professionals play in driving value creation—from shaping investment strategies and operational initiatives to fostering leadership excellence and organizational growth.
Immediately before her appointment, Sutton served as vice president of services at Management Concepts, where her work focused on systems for training and talent development of the federal workforce. She also previously worked for more than 12 years at Booz Allen Hamilton, with client advisory support as her last role. The position’s functions include coaching the company’s client service teams in project management and solution development for government agencies, such as the Department of Veteran Affairs and Department of Commerce.
Empower AI develops solutions to meet federal agencies’ unique requirements for security, transparency, and value. The company’s platform helps agency leaders achieve higher performance from their workforce, accelerates the accuracy of decision-making, and equips mission leaders to achieve true digital transformation.
Related: NorthWind Partners Recruits Chief Technology Officer for Empower AI
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
