CHANTILLY, Va., Jan. 5, 2022 — VTG, an industry-leading provider of force modernization and digital transformation solutions, announced it has appointed retired Navy admiral (RADM) Jim Shannon to a new leadership team role as Executive Vice President for Government Relations. Shannon is the former president of ASSETT, Inc., VTG’s latest acquisition.
“We are honored to have Jim take on this new responsibility,” said VTG President and CEO John Hassoun. “He will be a force multiplier across the VTG enterprise, enhancing the support we deliver to our Defense and Intelligence Community customers and positioning our growing technology portfolio to meet our customers’ emerging mission requirements.”
Shannon was a leader in the Department of the Navy’s acquisition workforce for over 15 years, with his final eight years as a flag officer. He spent his first 20 years in the Navy as a fleet operator, serving on seven different afloat commands including as commanding officer of a guided missile frigate. Shannon was also a leading Navy spokesperson for weapon system architectures; oversaw future modernization plans and budgets for all non-nuclear ships while serving as a deputy commander, Naval Sea Systems Command; and led the Navy’s warfare center enterprise of over 20,000 personnel and a diverse group of programs from cruise missile defense to counter IED threats.
As deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for International Programs, Shannon advised dozens of partner national leaders, among more than 40 countries, and coordinated maritime solutions for local and regional security problems across the globe. After retiring from the Navy, Shannon joined PricewaterhouseCoopers public sector as a leading consultant for all Naval Executive advisory supporting maritime security.
Shannon first joined VTG’s executive team when VTG acquired ASSETT in August 2021. ASSETT develops AI/ML applications for undersea and unmanned systems and is a longstanding industry leader in submarine SONAR acoustics and signal processing. The acquisition enhanced VTG’s core capabilities, including systems and cybersecurity engineering, software development and data science, with deep expertise in model-based systems engineering, DevSecOps, AI/ML, and human-machine teaming.
Shannon holds degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the College of Naval Warfare in Newport, Rhode Island. He was also certified Level III as a program manager in the Defense Acquisition Workforce and attended the Defense Acquisition University.
Learn more about Jim Shannon and the acquisition at VTGdefense.com.
