WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 25, 2026) — GovExec, the industry- leading sales and marketing intelligence company for government leaders and contractors, today announced a series of leadership appointments that reflect the company's continued evolution and commitment to delivering world-class intelligence, strategy, and operational excellence to its clients. Jennifer Pearce has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, bringing deep experience in enterprise operations to the role. Frank Konkel, GovExec's Editor-in-Chief, has been promoted to Editor-in-Chief, Executive Vice President, Strategy, expanding his mandate to shape GovExec's editorial direction and broader market strategy. Additionally, Joe Carden has joined the company in a newly created position, Senior Vice President of Membership Growth and Strategy.

“Today’s leadership announcement reflects GovExec's commitment to serving the government contracting market with unmatched depth, operational excellence, and trusted intelligence as the sector navigates a period of significant change,” said Tim Hartman, CEO of GovExec. “The company has always been nimble and responsive to the ever-changing govcon market. Now, our renewed focus on events, research and intelligence, and membership will enable more leaders to leverage our suite of offerings to drive their businesses forward.”

About Jennifer Pearce, Chief Operating Officer

Jennifer Pearce brings to GovExec a distinguished track record in operations leadership and data-driven media strategy. Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer at Zonda, a leading information services company for the home building industry, where she oversaw a 100-person team responsible for more than $30 million in media revenue and $15 million in ecommerce. In that role, she led the development and execution of a data-driven B2B media and B2C ecommerce strategy that positioned Zonda as an indispensable partner for industry leaders.

Prior to Zonda, Jennifer served in senior operations roles across several industries, consistently delivering measurable improvements in revenue performance, team scalability, and client experience. Her combination of operational rigor and content expertise makes her uniquely suited to accelerate GovExec's product development, sales pipelines, and innovation efforts as the company deepens its services for government contractors.

About Frank Konkel, Editor-in-Chief and Executive Vice President of Strategy

Frank Konkel is among the most respected voices covering the intersection of government, technology, and policy. In his expanded role as Editor-in-Chief, Executive Vice President, Strategy, Konkel will extend his editorial leadership to help shape GovExec's enterprise growth agenda, aligning the company's journalism prowess and intelligence capabilities with the evolving priorities of the government, industry, and the broader public sector.

Konkel has spent more than a decade at GovExec, moving to Washington, D.C. in 2013 to cover the nexus of business, technology, and government. His reporting on emerging tech, business, and the government’s blossoming partnerships with the private sector earned him multiple Neal and Azbee awards, and he later served as executive editor of Nextgov from 2017 through 2023. He was named Editor-in-Chief of GovExec in February 2024, taking responsibility for the editorial direction and award-winning journalism produced by all GovExec brands, including Defense One, Government Executive, Nextgov/FCW, Route Fifty, and Washington Technology.

About Joe Carden, Senior Vice President of Membership Growth and Strategy

Joe Carden brings over 20 years of experience driving revenue growth, market positioning, and stakeholder engagement across the government contracting ecosystem. In this newly created role at GovExec, he will expand and enhance the organization’s membership offerings, including the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center, through a dedicated growth strategy designed to deliver increased value to clients and support sustainable business growth. His focus will be on developing innovative programs and services that address the evolving needs of GovExec’s customers.

Carden joins GovExec from the Professional Services Council, a national trade association for the federal contracting industry, where he spent more than a decade in senior leadership, most recently as Senior Vice President of Membership and Marketing. During his tenure, he drove significant growth in sponsorship and advertising revenue, broadened membership across large integrators, mid-tier firms, and small businesses, and led a rebranding and digital strategy that enhanced engagement and lead generation. He served as a trusted advisor to CEOs, boards, and business development leaders on market trends and value creation across the government contracting community.

Earlier in his career, Carden held senior roles at the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council, Unisys Corporation, Congressional Quarterly, and Wirthlin Worldwide. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia and is a Certified Association Executive.

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About GovExec

GovExec's data and insights set the standard for depth, accuracy, and impact for government leaders and contractors. GovExec provides data-driven strategic sales and marketing intelligence solutions that accelerate revenue growth to fuel market success. The platform is powered by the largest and most sophisticated database in the public sector, reaching over 3.3 million government influencers each month.