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Paul has over thirty years of commercial lending experience, including the last ten years exclusively serving the local government contracting community. Paul joined Atlantic Union Bank in 2020 providing financing solutions for working capital, acquisitions, ESOPs and recapitalizations to government contractors. His primary objective is to be a trusted partner to his clients, providing the best solutions quickly and efficiently so that they can focus on growing their business and meeting the needs of their clients. Paul is a graduate of Fairfield University (B.S. Accounting) and the Stern School of Business at NYU (M.B.A. Finance).
Known as one of the country’s leading small business advocates, Sharon Heaton, founder of sbLiftOff, is an avidly sought speaker on small business, growth strategies and M&A. “I founded sbLiftOff,” says Heaton, “to serve those special people who sit at their kitchen table come up with an idea, start a business, hire people, pay their taxes, and fuel our economy. Small business owners are the backbone of the American economy, and we are honored to make sure they get a fair deal.” sbLiftOff serves commercial and government contracting companies with $10 million to $100 million in revenues and more than $2 million in EBITDA.
Heaton’s book, LIFT OFF: 12 Things to Know Before You Sell Your Company, published by FORBES, is available on Amazon. Appointed to the Small Business Administration’s Investment Capital Advisory Committee, she is working nationally to increase small business access to investment capital. Heaton publishes in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Washington Business Journal, Alabama.com and regional outlets around the country.
Heaton has been associated with the global law firms of Skadden Arps and Latham & Watkins and has served as Senior Counsel on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, General Counsel and Deputy Staff Director of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. She co-founded Wellford Energy Group, an investment bank serving clean energy and low carbon companies. Previously, she was Deputy Counsel of a Fortune 500 company operating in ten states.
Ms. Heaton holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School and a B.A. from Barnard College.
Gil Dussek holds the position of Chief Executive Officer at Gunnison and is also a member of its Board of Directors. With a wealth of experience and a proven track record in the federal contracting industry, he has consistently delivered complex solutions to Federal and State government clients, collaborating with them to achieve their critical mission objectives. Dussek assumed the role of CEO in August 2019 and brings with him over 18 years of diverse public sector experience across Federal Civilian, Intelligence Community, and State & Local markets. His expertise lies in driving strategic growth, facilitating business transformation, and optimizing operations.
Dussek's professional journey has equipped him with hands-on business experience, having served as an operations executive in roles with increasing responsibility in profit and loss management at both public and private companies. Prior to his tenure at Gunnison, he spent eight years at SRA International, CSRA Inc., and General Dynamics Information Technology. Before that, Dussek contributed his skills to Lockheed Martin, supporting the Information Systems & Global Solutions business unit, as well as Corporate Headquarters.
Dussek's professional journey has equipped him with hands-on business experience, having served as an operations executive in roles with increasing responsibility in profit and loss management at both public and private companies. Prior to his tenure at Gunnison, he spent eight years at SRA International, CSRA Inc., and General Dynamics Information Technology. Before that, Dussek contributed his skills to Lockheed Martin, supporting the Information Systems & Global Solutions business unit, as well as Corporate Headquarters.
Brad Palmer is a founder, investor, and entrepreneur historically focused in the Federal IT space. Mr. Palmer founded B3 Group in 2008, scaling it from 1 employee to more than 350 employees and an annual revenue of $125M. Primarily focused on the delivery of digital services in the FedHealth IT space, B3 Group had a successful sale in December 2021 to Octo Consulting, a platform company backed by private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners (ACP). In December 2022, ACP had a successful sale of the Octo platform company to IBM for $1.25B.