Rookies to Rockstars

15 Episodes

Reverse

Kevin Heald on Why Doing Your Job Well is Only the Beginning

2026-09-3028:28

Kevin Heald learned early that doing your job well is only part of the equation. A missed promotion taught him to look beyond his own project. Building a company taught him how quickly a lost contract can put a team’s future at risk. In this episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," Heald, who most recently served as senior managing director and defense and intelligence portfolio lead at Accenture Federal Services, joins WashingtonExec’s Amanda Ziadeh to share the lessons behind his career in GovCon...

Stepping Into the Unknown: Ross O’Rourke’s Rise to CEO

2026-06-0525:54

Ross O’Rourke didn’t set out to run a company. Like many in national security, he followed the openings in front of him and said yes to things he wasn’t sure he could pull off. The technical work came first. The leadership came later, once he could see where both the mission and the market were going. On this episode of “Rookies to Rockstars,” hosts Amanda Ziadeh and Camille Tuutti talk with O’Rourke about building Crimson Phoenix, what it actually takes to scale a mission-driven company and ...

She Was 18, Had No Mentor and Accidentally Joined the NSA. The Rest Got More Interesting From There.

2026-05-1343:39

Dr. Yolanda Reid didn't choose national security. She had a competing offer from a pharmaceutical company and picked the National Security Agency because the scheduling lined up better with school. She was 18. She didn't know the difference between the two industries. She just knew someone would pay for college. In this episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," hosts Amanda Ziadeh and Camille Tuutti sit down with Reid, vice president of cybersecurity at the MIL Corp., on what it looks like to ...

When Opportunity (or the CIA) Calls, Say Yes Early and Figure it Out Later: Lessons from Mario Orsini

2026-04-1529:34

Security may be high stakes, but building a career in it isn’t always a straight line. In this episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," hosts Camille Tuutti and Amanda Ziadeh sit down with Mario Orsini, vice president of security at Nightwing, to talk about the unconventional path that led him from a criminal justice degree to a surprise CIA recruitment call and into the world of national security. Orsini shares what he wishes he knew early on, including why the security field is “a lot smaller tha...

Ben Buckley Built His Career by Stepping Into Uncertainty—and Staying There

2025-12-1521:08

The first lie you believe early in your career is that everyone else knows what they’re doing. Ben Buckley didn’t. Trained as a biochemist, he walked away from medicine, pushed into technology without the “right” background and took risks that made sense only if you cared more about learning than comfort. What he figured out early is what most people learn late: uncertainty comes with the work, not incompetence. In the latest episode of "Rookies to Rockstars," Amanda Ziadeh talks with the GDI...

#box-pro-ellipsis-179335676821649{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}Rookies to Rockstars