When Margarita Howard founded HX5 in 2004, women-owned firms were a rare presence in government contracting. Two decades later, the Fort Walton Beach company she leads as sole owner and CEO/president employs more than 1,000 people at 90 government locations across 34 states, providing mission support services to the Department of Defense and NASA. Along the way, Howard has watched the industry shift, albeit slowly, toward greater inclusion.

“It’s rewarding to see that women are making significant strides in the government contracting industry, over the years, breaking barriers and more often assuming leadership roles in this industry and within government agencies that we work with,” Margarita Howard said. Yet she acknowledges the work is not finished. “It’s still somewhat challenging for women in this industry, and while progress has been made, some biases unfortunately remain to be overcome.”

A Leadership Team Built on Longevity

Howard has acted on those convictions within HX5 itself. Many of the company’s senior management positions are held by women, and several members of that team have been with HX5 for roughly a decade. “At the end of the day, it’s our team of great employees and management that makes us successful,” she said. The stability of that team is something Howard takes particular pride in.

“We were very selective of people that we chose for our management team. And really, I could not be more proud of them,” she said. “Many of them have been with us for 10 years or so, and we just have a highly dedicated, experienced management team. We could not do what we do without them.”

Her path to building HX5 was shaped by an earlier career that included military service and a senior role implementing the Tricare program for the Department of Defense. Managing seven southeastern states as a regional director gave Margarita Howard operational experience that translated directly into running a complex government contracting firm. For Margarita Howard and HX5, a clear-eyed understanding of both people and process has been the foundation of everything that followed. Read this article for additional information.

Learn more about Margarita Howard on https://www.margaritahoward.com/