George J. Pedersen, co-founder and former CEO of ManTech International Corp. for a half-century and a legend of the local government contracting sector, died Monday at age 87.
Pedersen, whose cause of death wasn’t disclosed, co-founded the Herndon government contracting company in 1968 with Franc Wertheimer, starting with a single U.S. Navy contract and 16 employees. Since then, the company has ballooned to 10,000 employees and $2.7 billion in revenue, ranking as one of the region’s largest industry players, according to Washington Business Journal research.
The defense industry stalwart, who grew up in Staten Island, decided to strike out on his own with ManTech after learning his then-employer, Vitro Corp. of America, was up for sale. In his time as CEO, he shepherded ManTech through a 2002 initial public offering that raised $110 million in proceeds and helmed a string of key acquisitions before eventually stepping down from that role in 2018.
“He was an early founder in our…
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