Aleut Federal Appoints Karen Hertel as Senior Director of Growth and Strategy

RESTON, Virginia — August 6, 2025 Aleut Federal LLC (Aleut) is proud to announce the appointment of Karen Hertel as Senior Director of Growth and Strategy, a newly expanded role supporting enterprise-wide growth initiatives while strengthening pricing strategy for the Mission & Technology groups.

Karen brings over two decades of leadership in federal contracting, with deep expertise across pricing, capture, and lifecycle strategy for defense, civilian, and intelligence agencies. She reports directly to President Nick Trzcinski, helping to optimize growth-related systems, lead strategic pricing, and drive high-performance outcomes for Aleut Federal’s customers and communities.

“Karen is a proven strategist who blends precision with adaptability,” said Trzcinski. “She understands how to build repeatable systems that fuel innovation, not stifle it. “

Most recently, Hertel served as Senior Director of Enterprise Pricing Strategy at GDIT, where she supported over $15 billion in contract awards and implemented scalable pricing processes that improved win probability, financial readiness and post-award insights. Her prior leadership roles include key positions at CSRA and Maximus Federal, where she led pricing strategy efforts across defense and civilian portfolios.

“At Aleut Federal, I see a rare combination of mission alignment, strong leadership, and a team committed to building something exceptional,” said Hertel. “You need a strong and consistent foundation to ensure compliance, meet financial goals and deliver on our customers’ missions. When we do those things efficiently and effectively, we free up time to focus on initiatives that truly drive value and innovation.”

Karen joins Aleut Federal at a pivotal time, as the organization continues to align growth strategy with mission impact. Her leadership will help strengthen the connection between opportunity development, pricing precision, and long-term value creation, enhancing how we deliver for our customers, partners, and communities.