Craig A. Parisot
Craig is an accomplished leader, entrepreneur and operational executive. Over his 25+ year career as a military officer and private sector executive, Craig has built a reputation as an innovator and results focused strategic thought leader doing business collaboratively and ethically.
Currently, Craig is the Chief Executive Officer of ATA, LLC (Advanced Technology Applications) headquartered in Great Falls, Virginia. ATA is a Design+Build partner providing full stack data solutions to multiple industry sectors serving commercial and government clients. Through its emphasis on merit-based hiring and promotion, ATA has built a diverse culture of high performing scientists, engineers and analysts. Craig was appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin to serve as a member of the Virginia Aviation Board for a four year term as the Region 3 Representative.
Previously, he was a founding executive of Altamira Technologies, serving as the company’s first Chief Strategy Officer and was the Chief Operating Officer of Invertix Corporation, a national security technology company that operated at the nexus of ISR and cloud computing; which was ultimately acquired by private equity in late 2012 following two consecutive appearances on Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in America. At Invertix, Craig led day to day operations, recruiting, technology development and all growth initiatives where he achieved a 78% compounded annual growth rate.
Craig is a proud fourth-generation Veteran having served in the United States Air Force through a combination of active duty and reserve time between 1996 and 2005 ultimately separating at the rank of Captain. There he served as a member of the defense acquisition corps in assignments with the Electronic Systems Center (ESC) located at Hanscom Air Force Base near Boston, Massachusetts and with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) in Southern California and is well known for shaping federal acquisition policy in the Department of Defense. As a result of his efforts, he was awarded the Lt Gen John W. O’Neill Award for Outstanding Military Achievement and Service. This is the highest honor given by ESC and Craig remains the award’s youngest recipient. He holds other military commendations and decorations, to include the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
Currently, Craig is Chairman of the Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education (Virginia FREE) where he is focused on maintaining a healthy business climate and positive working relationships among the Commonwealth's leadership. During his time with Data Community DC he founded DC DATACON and Data Week DC engaging 23,000+ data professionals in our region. He is also a member of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) working group at Virginia's Department of Aviation and a previous member of the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) working group. In 2023, he joined the Board of Directors of the Virginia Aviation Business Association (VABA). Among other interests, Craig is a member of the Great Falls Chapter of Rotary International. He is also a member of the Project Management Institute and a certified Project Management Professional.
Craig previously served as Board President of Volunteer Fairfax. Volunteer Fairfax is focused on leadership development, promoting volunteerism in the region, and encouraging corporate social responsibility positively impacting thousands of residents annually. Volunteer Fairfax also has formal responsibility to Fairfax County to mobilize and lead volunteer resources in the face of a natural disaster or other crisis response. In 2015, the organization had the lead for volunteer recruitment and coordination for the World Police and Fire Games. Craig was asked to join the Board of Directors of ‘The Games’ which resulted in an $83M positive economic impact to the region. Craig was previously a Member of the Board of Advisors of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) where he engaged senior leadership in government and industry around important policy matters facing the Commonwealth and our country. With INSA, he also served as the inaugural Chair of the Marketing and Communications Committee, a member of the cybersecurity committee, and as a member of the Rebalance Task Force. This task force produced the now often cited paper, Expectations of Intelligence in the Information Age.
Craig is an honors graduate of California State Polytechnic University with a Masters of Business Administration and a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a BA in English. He has pursued studies in computer science, engineering, law, and business at multiple universities. He continues his leadership and national security education with The Aspen Institute and is an alumnus of Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s highly competitive program Senior Executives in National and International Security.
He is a two-time Republican Nominee to represent Virginia’s 34th District in the House of Delegates. His focus was, and remains, on economic growth and development.
Craig is available for speaking engagements, fundraisers, special topic presentations, leadership mentoring, and business consultation.
Craig lives in Great Falls, Virginia and is passionate about family, faith, community, our Country, our Commonwealth, business, economic growth and development, technology and national security.