On January 27, 2014, Executive Mosaic officially elected, Dave Melcher, president and CEO of Exelis Inc. to join the ranks of the Wash100 as part of the latest group of inductees into the premier group of leaders on both sides of the intersection of the private and public sectors.
Melcher has spent the past few years driving Exelis’ evolution at the front edge of the changing GovCon landscape, punctuated in part by leading the defense operations of ITT Corp. through its spin-off into Exelis, and prepping Exelis’ spin-off of its military and government services business.
The retired Army Lt. General spent 32 years serving in the military prior to joining the private sector and has honed his focus on coming out of what he has called the “new reality” for government contractors in as good as shape as possible.
The spin-off of Exelis’ services operations followed a “comprehensive review of our business and market dynamics,” Melcher said, and was driven to “focus on the long-term growth drivers that will enable us to remain well-positioned in an evolving global market environment.”
Already back in 2010, Melcher wrote that “proposing and designing expensive new systems may no longer be a realistic approach. He advised instead that firms must provide “advancement and affordable new directions for proven technologies will be the key to success.”
“Those companies that will be successful in helping the Pentagon meet its short-and long-term challenges are the ones that are rethinking how they do business,” Melcher wrote.

The Wash100 is a group of private and public sectors officially elected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership for demonstrating a consistent commitment to organizational excellence, and driving above-average value to the American public through strategic vision, innovation and achievement.

Executive Mosaic inducts new leaders each year, but the recognition is earned over a career of work.

Tysons Corner, Va.-based Executive Mosaic is the only cross-platform media company that captures leading GovCon Executives’ perspectives on the latest developments and significant activity across government and industry.

Its media properties GovCon Wire, ExecutiveBiz, ExecutiveGov, and GovCon Executive serve as the most comprehensive source of original executive content in the industry.