Leadership

• Pete Dordal Jr.

  President
  

  Pete Dordal, Jr, is President of GardaWorld Federal Services and an accomplished business leader with over 40 years of experience gained in the U.S. military, private and public security, the intelligence community, and entrepreneurial commercial endeavors. He’s been a senior executive at GardaWorld since 2008, having served in a number of progressive operational and leadership roles.

  Pete joined GardaWorld from service with a select US government agency, where he provided highly specialized risk management services supporting the Global War on Terror. Earlier, Pete was the Director of Corporate Security at SPX Corporation, a multi-industrial Fortune 500 company, where he oversaw the security and risk management of 24,000 employees operating in 23 countries. In a dual role he was also the President of SPX Security & Investigations, a commercial business unit that provided a range of security and investigative services to global corporate customers, the US government, and other friendly foreign nations. In 1995, Pete founded The Potomac Group & Associates (PG&A), a boutique international security firm he grew to a multi-million-dollar business and sold five years later to SPX Corporation.

  He entered the private security industry in 1989 with Vance International, the premier executive protection and high-end security consultancy of its time. His professional career began in 1981 with his enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving eight years in special operations and training.

  Pete has a master’s degree in Business from the McColl Graduate School of Business, and a degree in Security Administration. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government International Security Program. Pete sits on the boards of the Kaba Mas, LLC, the US-Libya Business Association (USLBA) and the Business Executives for National Security (BENS).

• Matthew Daake

  Chief Financial Officer
  

  Matthew Daake is the Chief Financial Officer at GardaWorld Federal Services. He is the senior executive responsible for all Finance activities.

  Matthew has over 13 years of Financial Analysis and Planning experience within the government contracting industry. Prior to joining GardaWorld, Matthew worked at AECOM acting as Director of Finance for their Federal Services division, responsible for financial planning, management, and analysis over a worldwide project portfolio.

  Matthew is a graduate of University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Bachelor's degree in Business Finance, Commercial Banking, Business Investment and Portfolio Management.

• Mark DeWitt

  Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel & Secretary
  

  Mark DeWitt is the Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel & Secretary for GardaWorld Federal Services. He is the senior executive responsible for legal, compliance, contracts, and risk management.

  Mark’s career spans 20 years working both in private practice and as in-house legal counsel. Prior to joining GardaWorld, Mark was Associate General Counsel at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he supported key business accounts in the defense and intelligence sectors that totaled $1B+ in revenue, and also assisted in the firm’s government relations efforts, meeting with members of Congress and working with various industry associations on key legislative issues. Mark also spent nine years as Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Triple Canopy, where he oversaw legal, contracts, compliance, and government relations matters. Mark started his career in private practice, where he spent 8 years working at two leading Washington D.C. law firms, specializing in government contracting, procurement policy and legislation, compliance, and international law.

  Mark holds a B.S. degree from the Pennsylvania State University in Finance and International Business, and a Juris Doctor degree from the Columbus School of Law, the Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C., with a specialty certificate in International Law. Mark previously served on the Board of the International Stability Operations Association (ISOA), including a term as Vice-Chair and Chair. He also was a key participant in the drafting of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC), and was elected as the representative for U.S. industry to the ICoC Temporary Steering Committee, and subsequently to the Board of Directors of the ICoC Association, a multi-stakeholder organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. A frequent speaker and panelist, Mark is considered a leading industry legal expert on U.S contingency contracting and the role of private security providers operating in complex environments.

• James Lariviere, Major General (USMC ret.)

  Senior Advisor
  

  Jim Lariviere is the Senior Vice President for Department of Defense Operations for GardaWorld Federal Services. He is responsible for maintaining and promoting excellence in mission operations.

  Jim Lariviere has over 20 years of senior civilian and military experience in national security affairs. As a Major General in the Marine Corps Reserve his active and Reserve service as a combat arms officer includes command at every level from reconnaissance platoon through Marine division, serving in over 30 countries and participating in contingency operations in Lebanon and Afghanistan. His last active duty assignment was as Deputy Director Politico-Military Affairs (Africa), J5 Strategic Plans and Policy, The Joint Staff. In civilian life Jim has over a decade and a half of experience on Capitol Hill. He served as military legislative assistant to the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, and later as a professional staff member on the Defense Policy Staff of the House Armed Services Committee. Finally, he served as the Staff Director and Minority Staff Director of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs with responsibility for legislative and policy oversight for all aspects of the second largest department in the Federal Government. In the private sector, Jim was Vice President (Government Relations) for Health Net Federal Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. He previously worked as a senior public policy advisor/consultant assisting companies develop legislative and marketing strategies in the defense, homeland security and veteran’s affairs sectors.

  Jim holds a B.A. in History from The Citadel, an M.A. in Government from Georgetown University and is a graduate of the Air War College. He is the former President of the International Stability Operations Association.

• David Watson

  Senior Vice President, Contracts
  

  Dave Watson is the Senior Vice President of Contracts for GardaWorld Federal Services. He is responsible for the contracts administration and procurement activities of the organization.

  Dave has been working in the federal contracting arena for over 30 years, almost exclusively in the areas of contract administration, procurement and pricing. Prior to joining GardaWorld, Dave held leadership positions with several federal contractors, most recently with AECOM and URS.

  Dave holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from The Catholic University of America and has completed various graduate courses and programs specific to the areas of contract administration and procurement.

• Mike Holm

  Senior Vice President, Response Logistics
  

  Mike Holm is the Senior Vice President of Response Logistics. He is responsible for development and growth of the crisis response and logistics service offerings for GardaWorld Federal services.

  Mike joined GWFS, following the acquisition of Ellipse Global, where he was CEO. He led that business unit for five years materially growing revenues and profits and building one of the premier disaster response companies in North America.

  Mike has over 30 years of experience in relief operations and emergency services. He has responded to every nationally declared emergency since 1999. He was the former Director of Emergency Services and Special Projects at United Site Services, where he has deployed to every major hurricane in the U.S. from 2001 to 2016 and led emergency response planning after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He was also involved with various logistical support activities in response to the Haiti earthquake.

  He has degrees from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota School of Engineering as well as additional course work in emergency response.

• Jarrett Dahl

  Senior Vice President, Operations
  

  Jarrett Dahl is the Vice President of Operations for GardaWorld Federal Services. He is responsible for supporting all business operations across the spectrum, integrating business functions to ensure seamless operational support, and providing value to multiple internal organizations.

  Prior to joining GardaWorld, Jarrett’s career encompassed over 16 years in Government Contracting as a project/program manager. He served as a business executive leading contracts within multiple countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia for a diverse range of customers that include the Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Energy/NNSA and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, as well as commercial contracts.

  Jarrett is a retired Army Sergeant Major with 22 years of service in units that include the Infantry, Special Forces, and the Special Operations Command. He is a graduate of Campbell University with a Bachelors Degree in Science, and a graduate of Oklahoma University with a Masters Degree in Public Administration.

• Jonathan Wilcoxon

  Senior Vice President, Global Staffing
  

  Jonathan Wilcoxon is the Vice President of Global Staffing at GardaWorld Federal Services. He is responsible for the complete staffing process, including recruitment and deployment of U.S., third country nationals, and local national personnel on all active contracts worldwide.

  Jonathan has more than 15 years of experience in managing recruiting operations for U.S. Government contracting and commercial partners. He has overseen compliance with complex contract requirements such as arming authorization, security clearances, and specialized certifications. He has supported recruitment and deployment operations for personnel in 16 countries for contracts performed in the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

  Jonathan has obtained multiple certifications through AIRS, which sets the industry standard for recruitment operations. He attended Strayer University for Business Management.

• Debbie Ray

  Vice President, Finance
  

  Debbie Ray is the Vice President of Finance at GardaWorld Federal Services. She joined GardaWorld in 2006 and is responsible for the management of the finance, accounting and payroll functions.

  Prior to joining GardaWorld, Debbie worked in public accounting, security consulting and other professional services where she has been successful in the development and management of accounting departments, personnel and corporate policies and procedures.

  Debbie attended Polk State College and majored in Accounting.

• Matthew Twigg

  Vice President, Department of State Operations
  

  Matthew Twigg is the Vice President of Operations (DoS) of GardaWorld Federal Services overseeing the operations of the U.S. Embassy Kabul Security Forces.

  He is a career security professional with over 27 years of extensive training and operational experience gained in law enforcement, private and public security. He’s been a senior manager in support of Department of State security services since 2007.

  Matt began service in support of Diplomatic Security in 2004 in support of the U.S. Embassy, Baghdad with the close protection of Ambassadors Negroponte, Jeffrey, Khalilzad, and Crocker; ultimately, becoming the Project Manager of all U.S. Embassy Baghdad mobile security forces to include aviation, close protection and emergency response teams. Prior to coming to GWFS, Matt was also responsible for the operations and security provision of 3,000 personnel performing force protection in support of the Department of State at U.S. Embassy Baghdad, Iraq. Previously, Matt is seasoned law enforcement professional with fifteen years specialization in weapons and tactics, training and investigations. In service to the U.S. government, he resided in Iraq from 2003 to 2010.

  Matt is a graduate of Coastal Carolina University and holds a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Business Management and Psychology.

• Drew Ahearn

  Vice President of Proposal Development and Pricing
  

  Drew Ahearn is the Vice President of Proposal Development and Pricing. He is responsible for the proposal and pricing activities of the organization and oversees the management and development of proposals across all business verticals.

  Drew has over 15 years of experience leading pricing and proposal efforts for new business pursuits and driving organizational growth in both government contracting and commercial industries. Prior to joining GardaWorld in 2016, Drew held various leadership roles in finance and pricing at multiple federal contracting organizations encompassing an extensive scope of service offerings. Most recently at Engility Corporation, he served as the Federal Civilian Account Lead developing competitive pricing and capture strategies for large opportunities identified as corporate priorities.

  Drew is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s degree in Business with a concentration in Finance and Economics.

• Scott Elliott

  Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Capture
  

  Scott Elliott is the Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Capture for GardaWorld Federal Services. He is responsible for overseeing sales, capture, marketing, and growth efforts for all business verticals.

  Scott has over 18 years of experience in the defense sector in support of national security and humanitarian efforts. Since joining GardaWorld in December of 2013, Scott has served in various operational leadership and business development roles.

  Prior to joining GardaWorld, Scott held leadership positions with top firms specializing in Government Services and has led business development and program delivery efforts across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Scott is a United States Marine Corps veteran and brings both military and private sector leadership expertise to the GardaWorld family. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the Dr. Wallace E. Boston School of Business at American Public University.

• Dean L. Smith, MD, MBI

  Chief Medical Officer
  

  Dr. Dean Smith is the Chief Medical Officer for GardaWorld Federal Services. He has over two decades of health information technology and operational leadership expertise with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Medical Services, as well as recent experience as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the private sector.

  During his State Department tenure, Dean served as Senior Advisor for Medical Informatics from 2008 to 2018. From 2014 to 2017, he concurrently served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) for the Bureau of Medical Services. During this time he managed all facets of State’s globally deployed healthcare enterprise, comprised of over 500 clinicians practicing in more than 200 health clinics. He also collaborated extensively with medical leaders at the White House, the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies as well as medical leaders from many other nations.

  Dr. Smith’s additional State Department career milestones include service as Regional Medical Manager for Asia, based in Bangkok, where he supervised over 50 clinicians in 28 U.S. mission medical clinics throughout Asia and the Pacific region. Prior to that he managed State’s clinic providing over 4,000 executive examinations per year. In the same period he served as physician to the Secretary of State and team when they traveled abroad. At various times in his career, Dean also supervised clinical operations at U.S. embassies in Iraq, Russia, and Peru. He is a recipient of multiple service awards and honors, and attained the rank of Minister Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service.

  After concluding his successful career at the State Department, Dean founded Cascade Clinical Informatics LLC, a health information technology consulting business. His consulting work is focused on helping healthcare systems deploy and optimize secure electronic health information technologies with an emphasis on federal and international healthcare sectors.

  Dr. Smith earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin and post-doctoral residency in internal medicine at the University of Washington. He is board certified in Internal Medicine. He also holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics from Oregon Health and Science University. Prior to joining the State Department, Dr. Smith practiced internal and critical care medicine in the private sector. He also served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service.

• Mark O’Neill

  Vice President of Medical Administration
  

  Mark O’Neill is the Vice President of Medical Administration. He is the senior executive responsible for the administration operation of GardaWorld Federal’s medical programs.

  Mark began his career at Bethesda Naval Hospital and later led expeditionary medical teams in the U.S. and abroad before returning to lead healthcare operations and strategy within the private sector.

  As the liaison officer to the Navy’s joint oncology research program with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), he went on built the Comprehensive Colon Cancer Center at Walter Reed Military Medical Center serving as its first Associate Director. Recalled to active duty during Operation Enduring Freedom, Mark served as the Chief of Patient Affairs at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany to facilitate the return of wounded from both Iraq and Afghanistan.

  Following his overseas deployment, Mark served as the CEO of several independent, entrepreneurial physician group practices leading multi-site surgery centers, laboratory, and anesthesia operations. His international consulting work for physician-centric ventures included engagements in Ireland, Germany, and the UAE.

  Prior to joining GardaWorld, Mark held senior leadership roles across innovative healthcare ventures over the course of his career and earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps. He also served as an industry advisor to several healthcare private equity funds in the physician services space. Most recently at Cherokee Federal, he served as the Sr. Director of Medical Operations under the direction of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at HHS.

  Mark earned a master's degree in Health Finance and Management from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Mark holds an undergraduate degree in History and Political Science with a minor in Medical Ethics from the University of Pittsburgh. He also studied Irish history and literature at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

  Mark is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and a Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE) by the American College of Medical Practice Executives and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).