AMERICAN SYSTEMS Appoints Les Owens to Head Cybersecurity Systems Engineering
Cybersecurity and Information Assurance Veteran to Lead New Business Division, Strengthen and Coordinate Company's Cybersecurity Offerings
"Les' strong leadership abilities and extensive experience in applied research and developing wireless security, cryptographic, and cyber solutions for both the private and public sector will prove invaluable for government customers that need holistic cybersecurity solutions," said William C. Hoover, president and CEO, AMERICAN SYSTEMS. "His diverse career in Information Assurance and intelligence paired with his leadership, business management and operations capabilities will allow the Cybersecurity Systems Engineering division to better serve customers facing today's complex cybersecurity threats."
A recognized innovator who holds nine patents, Owens has 25 years of experience in wireless communication, cryptography and cybersecurity. In his most recent role as a principal at Booz Allen Hamilton, Owens built a high-end Information Assurance and cybersecurity consulting practice composed of more than 130 cyber security subject matter experts. The practice performed systems security engineering for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Assistant Secretary of Defense Networks and Information Integration (ASD-NII), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Joint Staff. His team delivered solutions that included network security engineering, PKI/PKE engineering, cross-domain solutions, and SOA/web services security.
Prior to joining Booz Allen Hamilton, Owens held leadership positions in the commercial sector at Nortel Networks, Iridium, LLC and AT&T Wireless, where he led the development of security solution sets and ensured physical and virtual asset security.
Owens earned his electrical undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech and his graduate degree in the same discipline at the George Washington University. Additionally, he has completed work toward a doctorate in electrical engineering with a focus on mobile and wireless security at Virginia Tech.
Owens is based out of AMERICAN SYSTEMS' Chantilly office.
About AMERICAN SYSTEMS
Founded in 1975, AMERICAN SYSTEMS is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the United States, with approximately 1,300 employees nationwide. Based in the Washington, DC, suburb of Chantilly, VA, the company provides systems engineering, technical and managed services to government customers. AMERICAN SYSTEMS was named to the Federal 100 list in 2009 for influencing how the government buys, uses and manages IT. For more information, please visit: www.AmericanSystems.com.
