Nazzic Keene will retire from her role as CEO of SAIC and as a member of its board of directors, effective October 2.
She will be succeeded by global technology veteran Toni Townes-Whitley, who will serve as CEO-elect beginning on June 12 before fully transitioning into the role upon Keene’s departure from the position, SAIC announced from its Reston, Virginia headquarters on Thursday.
“I have known, respected and admired Toni for years and am thrilled to welcome her to our SAIC family,” said Keene.
“I am proud of all we have accomplished for our customers and colleagues during my tenure at SAIC, and I am excited to work alongside Toni in the coming months to ensure we don’t miss a beat in driving sustained growth and performance,” she added.
To ensure Townes-Whitley’s smooth transition into the position, Keene will become the former’s special executive advisor, a role she will hold from the time of the transition through February 2, 2024.
Since joining SAIC in 2012, Keene has attuned the company’s portfolio to the evolving needs of its customers, as demonstrated by SAIC’s generation of approximately 30 percent of revenue from its Growth and Technology Accelerants.
With Keene at the helm, SAIC has dramatically advanced its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, resulting in a 21 percent increase of people of color within the company’s leadership. She has also driven the organization’s philanthropy work and has received a number of recognitions, including six Wash100 Awards.
Donna Morea, chair of SAIC’s board of directors, expressed her gratitude for Keene’s “tremendous contributions and dedication to SAIC,” which she said increased opportunities for employees, strengthened customer outcomes and boosted value for shareholders.
“The Board’s selection of her successor is the result of a thorough and thoughtful CEO succession planning process to identify the right leader to accelerate the momentum built over the four years of Nazzic’s leadership,” said Morea.
Townes-Whitley brings 35 years of experience in global technology as well as a wealth of experience as a board member for numerous large organizations to SAIC. She has worked extensively on diversity and inclusion initiatives and civic engagement, and has won a multitude of awards for her leadership. Previously, Townes-Whitley served as president of U.S. regulated industries at Microsoft.
“I am honored to bring my passion for driving our nation’s digital transformation to this extraordinary company that is positioned at the intersection of mission critical government programs at a time of evolving, multi-dimensional global threats,” said Townes-Whitley.
She listed SAIC’s strong growth trajectory, expanding portfolio, positive financial trends and integrity in serving its customers and expressed her excitement to continue this momentum.
SAIC is sponsoring the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Annual Air Force Summit, an event that will bring together Air Force leaders to discuss the priorities, challenges and successes currently impacting the service branch. To learn more and register to attend the event on June 18, please visit the Potomac Officers Club events page.