LEADERSHIP

Ed Jesson retired from the Army in May 1987 having specialized in Aviation (Pilot) and acquisition/contract management. His assignments included aviation jobs in Vietnam and Germany, and numerous stateside assignments that included numerous aviation, logistic, and contracting positions within the Federal Government. Upon his retirement out of the Pentagon he formed a new company building computer mother boards and then progressed into Information Technology services. In 1997 (1997-2003) he became a partner of Premier Technology Inc. (PTG) and grew it  from three employees and $425,000 revenue to a company of 482 employees with revenues for 2002 of $45M+ and $65M backlog for 2003. Ed directed the acquisition process and PTG was sold to CACI in May 2003.

Currently, Ed is the Chairman of the Board of Directors, of OBXtek Inc. which was a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business that opened its doors in 2008 as a consulting firm and incorporated in April 2009. OBXtek currently has 558 employees, 283 subcontractor employees. OBXtek has been recognized by INC. Magazine as the 11th fastest growing company in the US in all industrial categories, and the fastest growing firm in the Veteran Owned category in the US. OBXtek was also the fastest growing small business in the Washington and Baltimore areas for 2012 and 2013, according to the Washington Business Journal and the Washington Technology Magazine. 

Ed holds a BA in Economics and Political Science and an MA in Accounting from California State University-Humboldt. Ed was born and raised in California and his wife Juliet was born and raised in England. They have three children and five grandkids. He and his wife Juliet are strong supporters of the OBX/Corolla Wounded Warriors Program, the Hawaiian Wounded Warrior Outrigger Races, the OBX Charter School, as well as many other performing arts, educational, and veteran programs.

Dale Spencer is the President and Chief Executive Officer for OBXtek, one of the National Capital Region’s most successful small businesses over the past five years. Mr. Spencer possesses over 30 years of experience in business management and growth in both the services and manufacturing industries. In his current role at OBXtek, he oversees an organization of more than 500 personnel supporting over 200 prime contracts and task orders with federal government agencies including the Departments of State, Labor, Transportation, and Agriculture and DOD customers including the Air Force, Army, Navy, National Guard and Marine Corps.

Prior to joining OBXtek, Mr. Spencer held positions as the President of Hydrasearch, Company, a manufacturer of equipment for various DOD weapon systems including surface and sub-surface ships, aircraft and tanks. He also held the position of VP of Business Development at Amyx, Inc., a small business services provider and as the Director, Homeland Security Initiatives & Business Development at DRS Technologies a large systems manufacturer, integrator, and services company.  In his spare time Mr. Spencer enjoys skiing, boating, the beach and keeping his wife, Mary, happy.

Aaron Drabkin is the general counsel, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary of OBXtek.  As the company’s senior legal adviser, Drabkin has management and oversight responsibility for the legal, contracts, procurement, compliance, and risk management activities of the company.  

Drabkin’s experience encompasses a broad spectrum of legal disciplines, including government contracting compliance, human resources issues, corporate, protest work and others. Prior to joining OBXtek in February 2017, Drabkin was senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary for MicroTechnologies, LLC a government contractor.

Drabkin earned his Juris Doctor from the Washington College of Law at American University and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from Washington and Jefferson College. Drabkin is a Vice Chair, Small Business and Other Socioeconomic Programs subcommittee, Public Contract Law Committee, of the American Bar Association and former Vice President, Mentoring Programs, Tysons Corner Chapter, National Contract Management Association.

In February 2022, Drabkin was recognized as an OnCon Top 100 Corporate Counsel Award Winner. The OnCon Icon Awards recognize the top corporate counsel and legal vendors in the entire world. 

As chief financial officer, Mr. Martinez oversees all financial operations and strategy for OBXtek.  Mr. Martinez possesses over 25 years of experience providing senior financial leadership at numerous high-profile Government Contracting companies including A-T Solutions, QinetiQ-North America, STG Inc., and Raytheon.  Mr. Martinez holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Virginia Tech and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in Virginia.    

In his free time, Mr. Martinez enjoys such activities as down-hill skiing, fishing and spending quality time with his family.

In May 2022, Mr. Martinez was recognized as an OnCon Top 50 CFO Award Winner. The OnCon Icon Awards recognize the top CFOs in the entire world. 

Sharon is a positive, driven, hard-working human resource professional and innovative leader with a passion for people and the challenges of business. With more than 30 years of leadership experience-more than 23 of them dedicated to Talent Management -Sharon is unapologetic in advocating for people and best business practices. Her honorable military service in the US Air Force as a logistics officer started her career of service which she continued in various HR functions while working for companies in the federal contracting, manufacturing, and financial industries.

Sharon joined OBXtek’s executive team as VP of HR in 2015. Prior to joining OBXtek she was a VP of HR and Administration for 10 years with another government contractor. Sharon earned a bachelor’s degree majoring in economics with a minor in computer science and mathematics from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree in business administration from Texas State University.

As the Chief Operating Officer of OBXtek, Mike has overall strategic and operational responsibility for managing all customer facing operational aspects. Mike possesses over 35 years of experience in leadership, business management, and growth in both the services and product industries. He oversees an operation of more than 500 personnel supporting over 200 prime contracts and task orders with federal government agencies including the Departments of State, Labor, Transportation, and Agriculture and DOD customers including the Air Force, Army, Navy, National Guard, and Marine Corps.

Prior to joining OBXtek, Mike held multiple senior and executive level positions managing profit and loss business units in large and small businesses as well as overseeing the business winning efforts in an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) 8(a). Mike previously served in the U.S. Air Force for 26 years where he commanded at three levels, amassed over 3,200 hours in various fighters, and led the Air Force’s first Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Group. He retired as a Colonel. Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and a Master of Science, Management from Troy State University. He has two grown daughters and has been married to Michelle for over 25 years. They have two Westies…Henry and George.

Over the last 20 years, Travis has supported the Department of Defense (DoD), in and out of uniform, serving in various roles with a focus on training, logistics, strategic planning, and emergency/disaster management.

Prior to joining OBXtek, Travis served as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) Specialist in the U.S. Army, a Senior CBRN Analyst for the National Guard Bureau, and as a Program Manager for multiple DoD projects. 

Currently, Travis serves as the Vice President of Training & Logistics, providing direct support to our DoD and civilian support agencies. As a vice president, his focus is to provide his managers with the tools necessary to deliver top-notch support to not only the clients, but more importantly to the employees that give OBXtek the stellar reputation we continue to maintain. 

Travis holds a M.A. in Emergency & Disaster Management from American Military University and resides in Arlington, VA. He enjoys spending time riding his Harley, hiking on the Appalachian Trail, and watching LSU sports.

Clayton Crosby serves as OBXtek’s Information Technology and Cybersecurity Solutions Vice President. In this role, Clayton is responsible for delivery of OBXtek’s IT and Cybersecurity solutions while also driving the IT, Cyber and Innovation growth strategy for the company. Clayton has over 30 years of experience within the Federal Government sector. As Clayton’s professional career has traversed from engineering to project management to program management to corporate leadership; he has continued to add skills to his toolkit and apply them towards driving organizational success.

Before joining OBXtek, while at Empower AI, Clayton led a $800M Digital Transformation program for GSA. Prior to Empower AI, Clayton held growth and operations roles at Leidos (formerly Lockheed Martin IS&GS) and notably was the Deputy Capture manager for the largest single-award IT Services contract (Defense Enclave Services - $11.7B) in the history of the company. Along with several industry-recognized certifications, Clayton holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Strayer University, and MBA with a concentration in Business Intelligence from Keller Graduate School of Management.

Aaron Worles brings more than 18 years of experience in commercial and government contracting to OBXtek. He joined OBXtek three years ago as a Controller. In this role, he planned, directed, and supervised the company’s day-to-day accounting operations.

As Vice President of Finance & Accounting, Aaron plans and executes the company’s financial plans, including directing all accounting operations, overseeing all transactions related to general ledger, receivables, payables, payroll, and financial reporting.

Aaron holds a B.S. in Accounting from Shepherd College. He enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter.

As the Vice President of Business Operations, Ms. Liu plans, directs, coordinates, and oversees activities and daily workflow in the business operations organization, inclusive of the PMO and corporate communications.

Ms. Liu has over 23 years of experience in project and program management. Prior to joining OBXtek, she worked at Verizon in increasingly senior roles. Ms. Liu holds a B.S. in Business Management from Purdue University. Additionally, she is a SAFe Agilist 4.0, IC Agile Certified Professional, and Certified Scrum Master.

Ms. Liu credits being able to keep up with her twin boys to her love of working out. She also loves to craft, cook, and bake.

As the Vice President of Proposal Strategy & Operations, Mr. Cash leads win strategy sessions for all OBXtek recompetes, “must win” opportunities, as well as opportunities that will catapult OBXtek to the next level due to their size, complexity, or mission area. He also continues to modernize and streamline the way OBXtek produces winning proposals.

Mr. Cash was Director of Proposal Operations at AECOM and held the same position at Teledyne FLIR before joining OBXtek as Director of Proposal Operations in 2022. In the last ten years, he has won over 7 billion dollars in revenue. Russell earned his B.A. in Management and MBA at John F. Kennedy University, and he is a certified APMP Practitioner for proposal development.

He is an active member of his faith community where he is a leader and sought-after conference speaker. Mr. Cash was appointed to serve on the Maryland National Capitol Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) Spending Affordability Committee in 2022. He is an avid reader who is always studying leadership for personal and professional growth. He enjoys spending time with his family, fitness, traveling, sports, and playing board games. Russell and his wife of 29 years have two children and reside in Prince George’s County, Maryland.