Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. (NYSE: BAH) went to none other than the National Reconnaissance Office to find the next head of its space and intelligence business, tapping the agency’s former principal deputy director to lead those operations.
The McLean management and IT consulting company said Wednesday it's hired Frank Calvelli to serve as a senior vice president in its national security business. Calvelli comes to Booz Allen after nine years in his latest post at the NRO, which oversees the development and deployment of the nation’s intelligence satellite networks. In that role, he oversaw the day-to-day management and 3,500 employees of the agency and reported to its director.
He also held roles in the NRO overseeing satellite and ground system acquisition, systems engineering and mission operations, and prior to that, served in the CIA.
Booz Allen is looking to boost an arm of business that's seen its share decline slowly in recent years. Its intelligence clients accounted for $1.6 billion, or roughly 20%, of the company’s $7.9 billion revenue in fiscal 2021, which ended March 31. Through the first quarter of fiscal 2022, which ended June 30, the intelligence business has generated $376.8 million in revenue, 19% of that quarter's total intake. That compares with roughly $1.6 billion worth of business in both fiscal years 2020 and 2019, though it made up 22% and 23% of all revenue, respectively, in those years.
Across the defense contracting marketplace, space has become an increasing focus, leading to a flurry of merger and acquisition deals in recent years, such as Science Applications International Corp.'s (NYSE: SAIC) purchase of Engility Holdings Inc. in 2019, Leidos Holdings Inc.'s (NYSE: LDOS) absorption of Dynetics Inc also in 2019, and Northrop Grumman Corp.'s (NYSE: NOC) pickup of Orbital ATK in 2018.
The industry's expansion into space aligns with its emergence as a new domain of military operations. That's stretched the intelligence community’s role in space efforts, but also that of the Department of Defense with its most recent Armed Service, the U.S. Space Force.
In addition to that is more demand for integrating emerging technologies like artificial intelligence into space-based capabilities. Booz Allen is looking to Calvelli to help the company navigate the crossroads of all of those offerings in his new role.
“Space intelligence and defense are coming together as one, and Frank will help position us in that nexus,” said Judi Dotson, Booz Allen executive vice president and head of its national security business. “He knows the players, he knows the data and he will help set a future-forward path for our business and our clients to succeed in this critical domain.”
