Dawne Hickton, Critical Mission Solutions Business EVP & COO at Jacobs, Named to 2021 Wash100 for Expanding Cyber Capabilities; Driving Company Growth

Executive Mosaic is honored to present Dawne Hickton, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Critical Mission Solutions at Jacobs, as an inductee into the 2021 edition of the Wash100 Award for expanding the company’s cybersecurity business and driving significant growth through contract awards. This marks Hickton’s second consecutive Wash100 Award.

“Dawne Hickton, after just over a year with Jacobs, is managing an advantage in integrated engineering solutions to include cybersecurity, digital transformation and even the excitement of participating in the NASA Mars Perseverance rover mission,” said Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic and founder of the Wash100 Award.

In an interview with Inside Defense in July 2020, Hickton said the acquisition of KeyW “accelerated that cyber opportunity” for Jacobs. Jacobs completed its purchase of KeyW in June 2019 to expand its engineering and technology platforms in intelligence, cyber and counterterrorism areas.

She said the “critical mass that KeyW brought us” has benefited Jacobs’ new cyber business unit, which is led by Caesar Nieves. Nieves is a government market veteran who joined Jacobs in February 2020 as a senior vice president.

Hickton said then that growing the company’s cyber business is a key part of the CMS business strategy and that Nieves’ leadership experience will help Jacobs advance its growth and “continued development and deployment of innovative solutions across an ever-expanding client base.”

To further advance the CMS business strategy, Hickton helped bring in Bruce Crawford, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former Army chief information officer, as senior vice president of strategic development within CMS, in November 2020.

Hickton described Crawford as an “inspiring thought leader that brings a depth of strong leadership experience to our Critical Mission Solutions business strategy.”

Jacobs made strides to further improve its position as a nuclear lifecycle services and technology-platforms provider and one is completing its $325 million acquisition of John Wood Group’s nuclear business in March 2020. Jacobs integrated Wood Nuclear into its CMS business and combined complementary capabilities to deliver nuclear and defense platforms to customers.

Jacobs started calendar year 2021 with a potential $421 million contract from the U.S. Navy to provide asset management support at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia.

Under Hickton’s leadership of the CMS business, Jacobs won several contracts in 2020, including a $100 million follow-on contract to continue to provide laboratory support services for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) research and development office, a $29 million contract from the Patent and Trademark Office for agencywide cybersecurity support services and a potential $418.9 million contract from Naval Facilities Engineering Command to help manage operations at U.S. Navy installations located within the Washington state’s Jefferson and Kitsap counties.

In February 2020, Jacobs won a potential $225.1 million contract to help Air Force researchers explore rocket and propulsion technologies at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Hickton is a member of Jacobs’ executive leadership team and oversees federal government relations, technology and innovation function and international relations, among other several corporate groups within the company.

Hickton has over three decades of industry experience, including more than 15 years as a senior leader in the aerospace sector. She joined the executive leadership team in 2019 when she was appointed COO and president of Jacobs’ aerospace, technology and nuclear business, which now operates as a critical mission solutions business.

Executive Mosaic congratulates Jacobs and Dawne Hickton on her second Wash100 Award. Her commitment and success to Jacobs and the government contracting (GovCon) sector showcases the level of excellence that the Wash100 Award has represented for the last eight years and will continue to do so moving forward.

About The Wash100

This year represents our eighth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement and vision.

Visit theWash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2021 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2021.