Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: STU SHEA

EDITOR’S NOTE: Shortly after the 2024-25 Virginia 500 was released, Shea announced he would step down as of Sept. 9. He is being succeeded by Steve Schorer, former CEO of Alion Science and Technology.

Shea has been a fixture in the national security industry for decades. Since taking the helm when it was formed in 2017 by owner Veritas Capital, Shea has led Peraton to become a major federal contractor through a series of blockbuster acquisitions.

Peraton purchased Chantilly-based IT contractor Perspecta Inc. and Northrop Grumman’s federal IT and mission support services businesses in 2021 for a total of $10.5 billion. In 2023, Peraton moved its headquarters, which serves as a hub for 5,000 of the company’s 19,000 employees, from Herndon to Reston.

In February, Peraton announced that it had received a $2.8 billion task order to provide IT platform and network services to the U.S. Special Operations Command.

As a young software engineer, Shea used his expertise in geology and geography to create some of the earliest computer mapping systems for the CIA, the Air Force and the National Security Agency. Previously, as chief operating officer of Leidos, Shea was the principal architect in the creation of Leidos, where he served as president and chief operating officer.

Shea is a founder of the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, a board member for the National Intelligence University Foundation and a trustee of Riverside Research.