Toni Townes-Whitley named CEO of SAIC

Toni Townes-Whitley, a top industry executive in the federal technology space, has been appointed incoming CEO of SAIC Inc.

Townes-Whitley will take over as CEO on Oct. 2 when current chief executive Nazzic Keene steps down. Before then, she will join SAIC on June 12 as CEO-elect to “ensure a seamless transition,” per a release on her appointment.

“I have known, respected and admired Toni for years and am thrilled to welcome her to our SAIC family,” Keene said. “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.”

Most recently, Townes-Whitley served as president of U.S. regulated industries at Microsoft and led sales within the U.S. promoting digital transformation for the public sector. Earlier in her career, she was president of CGI Federal, and before that led the federal civilian group for Unisys Corp. She also holds independent director and trustee roles on a number of boards, including for Nasdaq, PNC Financial Services, United Way, and the Partnership for Public Service.

“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,” Townes-Whitley said in a statement. “SAIC is on a solid growth trajectory with an expanding solutions portfolio, positive financial trends and a culture of serving its customers with integrity, and I look forward to building on the company’s momentum.”

Townes-Whitley is a former FedScoop 50 winner.