Maximus hires chief digital and information officer

Maximus has hired Derrick Pledger as chief digital and information officer, the Tysons-based federal tech contractor announced Tuesday.

Pledger joins Maximus from Leidos, where he oversaw a global team as the contractor’s chief digital and information officer. At Maximus, his responsibilities will include leading the company’s technology modernization and IT strategies along with focusing on improving service delivery for government clients.

“Derrick brings a wealth of experience to Maximus as a noted leader in technology modernization and strategic leadership, and we are excited about adding those skills to our talented executive team,” Maximus President and CEO Bruce Caswell said in a statement. “The CDIO role supersedes the chief information officer role and will leverage innovation and emerging technologies … to optimize business processes for our government partners.”

Pledger worked with Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Leidos for 13 years, according to his LinkedIn profile, beginning as a software systems engineering manager in 2010 and working his way up. Before joining Leidos, he was a field service engineer with Reston-based Fortune 500 federal contractor Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC).

“Maximus has positioned itself at the forefront of technology modernization across state, federal and international government agencies in its delivery of business services and technology solutions,” Pledger said in a statement. “This new role is a tremendous opportunity to join a growing team and lead it to even greater heights.”

A U.S. Army veteran, Pledger served multiple tours of duty overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa in uniform and as a defense contractor.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech and an MBA from the University of Maryland. Pledger serves on the customer advisory board of Reston-based Rancher Government Solutions and the advisory board of CapitalCIO.

Maximus was founded in 1975 and provides business process management and technology services to federal, state and local governments. The company reported $4.63 billion in revenue for fiscal 2022 and has more than 50,000 employees worldwide.