Meet Our Leaders Who Offer Forward-Thinking for a World in Constant Demand of Innovation
James Christopher
President
James Christopher is responsible for the company’s operations at work locations across the United States, including the company’s 24×7 Enterprise IT Operations Centers (EITOC) in Blacksburg, VA and Boise, ID. He is also responsible for 1901 Group’s research and development efforts and continued maturation of the In³Sight Platform, a FedRAMP authorized set of integrated tools that support the delivery of 1901 Group Managed Services. As President of 1901 Group, James leverages his 25+ years of industry experience as an engineer, manager, leader, and executive in both large and small companies to drive a culture of innovation and thought leadership.
In 2012, James began his journey at 1901 Group joining Founder Sonu Singh. Like Sonu, James grew up in Blacksburg, VA and both shared a vision for leveraging the untapped talent in rural areas across the country and developing a diverse skilled workforce through mentoring, training, and certifications and providing opportunities for rapid advancement and rewarding experiences across a diverse set of customers. James is a proud alumnus of Virginia Tech where he received a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree and is a lifelong Virginia resident.
Sonu Singh
Founder
Sonu Singh is the Founder of 1901 Group. After a childhood in Blacksburg, VA, and an engineering degree from Virginia Tech, Sonu knew that there was tremendous untapped talent in rural areas such as Southwest Virginia. In 2009 he founded 1901 Group based on three major components: 1– establishing an Enterprise Operations/Development Center in Blacksburg, 2 – leveraging technology, automation, and processes in a common platform to increase quality and consistency in IT management, and 3 – utilizing consumption models for IT as opposed to standard labor hour billings. Since then, 1901 Group has become a leader in public sector managed services, cloud migration/operations, software development, and cyber engineering. Sonu currently serves on the Virginia Tech Foundation Board, the Virginia Tech APEX Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, and the Virginia Tech Applied Research Corporation Board.
Paul Wilkinson
Chief Growth Officer
Paul Wilkinson is responsible for managing the company’s growth, leading business development, capture management, marketing, and communications. Paul provides leadership for the development of new markets and managed service offerings. Paul brings over 25 years of experience within technical and leadership positions supporting commercial, federal, and DoD programs. Prior to joining 1901 Group, Paul was Chief Operating Officer of List Innovation Solutions, supporting the successful sale of the company to Salient Federal Solutions and led Salient’s Strategic Market Development Group. Prior to that, Paul held numerous leadership positions providing financial consulting, product management, and IT services supporting both public and private sector customers at SRA International (now GDIT), BearingPoint, and KPMG. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from George Mason University and is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
Tom Pugliese
Chief Technology Officer
Tom Pugliese focuses on aligning 1901 Group technical solutions and services with customer needs and requirements. He oversees the 1901 Group technical roadmap to introduce new technologies and offerings onto our managed service platform. He leads the Enterprise Solutions Group, guiding a team of solutions architects and engineers in support of all corporate growth opportunities, business capture, proposal development, and program implementation. He serves as a mentor to the team and provides program technical oversight and direction, as well as providing leadership for our strategic partnership initiatives. Tom partners closely with our EITOC leadership in the maturation of our services and our platform, linking the demand signals received from the market to our platform maturity roadmaps. Tom brings over 25 years of Federal IT experience to our team including senior technical leadership positions with large system integrators and small start-up companies. Tom is a graduate of Old Dominion University where he received a Bachelor of Computer Science degree and is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP).
Don Hirsch
Senior Vice President, Service Delivery
Don Hirsch is responsible for managing our service delivery engagements, leading program delivery, driving revenue, and building long-lasting partnerships with customers and business partners. He brings over three decades of Federal and Corporate Enterprise IT experience with a strong grasp on solving business problems with technology innovation. Don joins 1901 Group after serving 14 years as a Vice President at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), leading business across the Federal Civil and Health markets with portfolios ranging in size up to $350 million and 700 staff. Most recently at GDIT, Don served as Vice President for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) programs. Don has a wealth of experience having served as an IT executive in other companies in the Washington DC Metro area and is a University of Maryland graduate.
Wayne Whitlock
Senior Vice President, Enterprise IT Operations Center
Wayne Whitlock is the leader of our Enterprise IT Operations Centers (EITOCs), overseeing activities in Tier 1 – Tier 3 IT operations, security operations, software development, enterprise, and cloud engineering, and project management. He is responsible for the development and delivery of new technology and tools capabilities for the In³Sight Platform, and the deployment of new managed service offerings onto the platform. Wayne joined 1901 Group in 2010 and led the growth of our Army practice, as well as development efforts for large agency customers. Wayne brings over 40 years of experience in product development, engineering, technical management, and program management. Prior to 1901 Group, Wayne held numerous management and executive positions in the engineering field working for companies such as Librato, SafeNet, Conexant/Globespan, and IBM. Wayne holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech in Electrical Engineering.
Douglas Anderson
Chief Information Security Officer
Douglas Anderson is an industry expert in systems administration and security operations with a focus on digital forensics and incident response across multiple industries including financial and media. Douglas plays a key role in ensuring the success of the 1901 Group In³Sight Platform’s accreditation through the Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), leading the SOC and working with multiple teams to ensure security is baked into the development of applications and operations. When Douglas is not managing the Security Operations Center from the 1901 Group EITOC, he teaches as an Adjunct Faculty member at Virginia Western Community College and is a member of the VWCC IT Lay Advisory Committee. Douglas holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Radford University in Information Science & Systems.
Patrick Johnson
Chief Information Officer
Patrick Johnson is our leading IT strategist, enterprise architect, and premier problem solver with over 20 years of design, architecture, and operations experience across all IP-based technologies. Since the inception of 1901 Group in 2009, Patrick has been a key contributor to the creation and success of 1901 Group’s Managed Services offerings including the innovative In³Sight Platform. His leadership focuses on balancing performance and security with sustainability and resource efficiency. This holistic approach to designing and implementing technologies minimizes operational risk, ensures the quality of service, and results in optimal use of IT investments. Patrick enjoys maintaining his apiary and tinkering with his 1977 Toyota Land Cruiser. Patrick has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Coastal Carolina University and lives in Virginia with his wife and four children.