REBECCA McHALE

Some job applicants might have been intimidated by the opportunity to integrate three information systems into one due to a massive merger of Perspecta Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp.’s federal IT and mission support services and Peraton, a national security contractor.

Not Rebecca McHale.

Helping Peraton, which is set to move to Reston in September, undergo a significant transformation motivated McHale to accept her job as Peraton’s chief information officer in July 2021, after working as CIO for Fortune 500 global management consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

Under her leadership, her team at Peraton successfully brought together 18,000 employees under one virtual roof.

“What was exciting to me was the opportunity to not just work for an organization that had an important mission I’m passionate about, but that we were really building something,” she says.

McHale attributes much of her professional success to a strong work ethic and mentorship partnerships. “I get as much out of mentor relationships — if not more — than they do,” McHale says. “It fills my tank.”

McHale advises her mentees to focus on providing value to an organization rather than seeking out a dream job title. She hopes to instill confidence in the next generation of leaders that’s void of doubt.

“The biggest obstacle working as a female in the C-suite is often myself and a tendency to second guess the value of my contributions,” McHale says. “I continually remind myself that, while my experiences and perspective are unique, they are also what allowed me to be part of the conversation in the first place.”