Catherine Straley
Vienna,VA
Summary
Revenue-driven Software as a Service (SaaS) Account Executive and Government Contractor (GovCon) Business Development (BD) professional with a proven record of closing Annualized Value of a Subscription (SaaS) deals, and driving measurable company growth projections. Brings full-cycle enterprise sales success from XTIVIA and Deltek, where consistent quota overachievement was driven by targeted outbound prospecting, leading discovery calls and demonstration meetings, performing solution mapping, and delivering disciplined pipeline management across Microsoft Dynamics 365 – Business Central , and Deltek Costpoint portfolios. Adds deep federal capture and proposal expertise from Empirical Corporation and C Evans Consulting (CEC), securing $35M+ in awarded federal contracts by leading Shipley-based capture and proposal writing cycles, shaping acquisition strategies, and guiding teams through compliance requirements. Demonstrates the ability to win federal awards through creating compelling and relevant content by the use of AI-enabled proposal automation. Brings a unique combination of enterprise SaaS sales, GovCon domain fluency with a significant network, and hands-on proposal automation experience.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Business Development Manager
C Evans Consulting (CEC), LLC
Reston, VA
08.2023 - Current
- Secured over $24 million in federal awarded contract value across key civilian agencies, demonstrating expertise in full-cycle business development, strategic capture planning, proposal leadership, teaming partner selection, and pipeline optimization.
- Expands market share through targeted go-to-market strategies, stakeholder engagements, and high-impact proposal execution.
- Recognized for enhancing operational efficiency, expanding capability offerings, and positioning the organization for sustained success in a highly competitive federal market.
- Leads strategic pipeline development and AI-driven strategic proposal writing.
- Secured a $5.7 million revenue increase through two DOJ 8(a) contract transitions as a result of fostering a new strategic partnership.
- Developed and executed go-to-market strategies, including marketing campaigns that expanded CEC’s presence in high-growth verticals such as Human Capital Management, Retirement and Benefits, and Acquisitions, Contracts, and Procurement support.
- Led AI-driven proposal development that resulted in the following awards: DEA Human Capital Support Services ($9 million) – Authored 50% of winning proposal. DOJ OJP Human Resources Support Services ($6.2 million) – Led proposal development and secured direct award. DOI United States Park Police Merit Promotion ($2.5 million) – Co-authored Request for Information (RFI) leading to a direct award.
- Managed proposal lifecycle using Shipley Associates Proposal Process including opportunity identification and capture, bid and no bid decisions, proposal planning and kickoff, color team (pink, red, and gold) writing, reviews and recovery, white glove completion, and final submission.
- Led data calls, win theme development, whiteboarding, solution differentiation, competitive ghosting strategies during the red team writing and recovery process.
- Managed the adoption of HubSpot to automate pipeline and marketing workflows, opportunity Probability of Win (P-Wins), sales forecasting, and client communications.
- Performs all capabilities’ responses and submissions for Requests for Information (RFIs).
- Authored and submitted CEC’s first Unsolicited Proposal for the Department of Transportation (DOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) need for Cyber Security and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategic Skills Gap Analysis required by a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
Exhibitor Sales Executive (Short-Term Through End of Event)
Event Performance Group (EPG)
Bethesda, MD
11.2022 - 03.2023
- Led government contractor exhibitor sales and managed corporate relationships for the April 2023 MRDC Spring Research Festival, hosted by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (MRDC), which showcases cutting-edge biomedical research and fosters collaboration between government, academia, and industry.
- Exceeded booth space and sponsorship sales targets by 27% through executive outreach, marketing campaigns, and targeted call strategies.
- Closed deals with enterprise clients including Roche Diagnostics, Battelle, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Beckman Coulter, BRMi, Eppendorf, FreMon Scientific, Millipore Sigma, PerkinElmer, and 45+ additional companies.
- Managed exhibitor logistics, marketing communications, and ongoing updates to ensure a seamless event experience.
Senior Business Development Manager
Empirical Corporation
Alexandria, VA
06.2021 - 11.2022
- Led strategic capture and proposal efforts across DHS, DOJ, USDA, HHS, DOC, DOL, ED, and NASA.
- Secured an $11M U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recompete by leading capture, teaming, and proposal strategy.
- Built a $70M pipeline across federal civilian agencies.
- Led full Shipley-based proposal development including Pink Team, Red Team, Gold Team, and recovery cycles.
- Directed compliance matrix creation, technical volume writing, and past performance narratives.
- Shaped acquisition strategy through early capture, competitive analysis, and Request for Information (RFI) responses.
- Initiated strategic outreach to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) across multiple agencies to engage financial decision-makers and influence acquisition planning.
- Engineered teaming strategies with Guidehouse, CohnReznick, and 20+ small/mid-sized firms.
Senior Client Sales Executive
XTIVIA, Inc.
Reston, VA
04.2013 - 10.2019
- Managed full-cycle enterprise government contractor sales for Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions.
- Generated $6M+ in revenue, consistently exceeding annual SaaS and services goals.
- Built and managed a 7× pipeline, maintaining $7M+ in qualified opportunities.
- Led full sales cycle: outbound prospecting, discovery and demonstration meetings, solution mapping, pricing negotiation, and close actions.
- Closed 6 - 7 figure ACV SaaS and services deals using Customer-Centric Selling methodology.
- Delivered tailored demonstrations by collaborating with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs).
- Sold into C-suite: Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), Chief Operating Officers (COOs), Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs).
- Maintained 100% CRM accuracy in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM for forecasting, pipeline movement and closing deals.
- Hosted GovCon executive events and built referral partnerships with Capital One, Wells Fargo, ADP, Red Team Consulting, and USI Insurance Services.
Client Sales Executive
Deltek, Inc.
Herndon, VA
10.2007 - 10.2011
- Managed the full-cycle sales process for Costpoint and its add-on modules needed to support government contractors’ growth and compliance needs.
- Exceeded $1.35M revenue goal by closing new Costpoint ERP and ad-on solutions by leading discovery sessions and demonstrations, presenting the clients’ needs, gaps, and impact with solution’s capabilities and results-driven outcomes, presenting cost-to-benefit analysis, and closing deals.
- Successfully deployed the Customer-Centric Selling methodology to document and lead opportunities to a close, used Salesforce.com to manage pipeline activity, generate daily forecasts, model close probabilities, and present weekly sales commitments to the executive team.
- Collaborated effectively with cross-functional teams, including finance and accounting, solution engineers, solution architects, software developers, professional services, legal, training, and marketing to support closing deals.
- Engaged in networking events hosted by Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum (SECAF), Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), Professional Services Council (PSC), National Veteran Small Business Coalition (NVSBC), and Capital Business Development Association (CBDA) to meet government contractors and establish strategic partnerships.
Education
Master of Science (MS) - Marketing
Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School
Bachelor of Science (BS) - Marketing & Merchandising
West Virginia University
Skills
- Microsoft Office 365
- GovWin
- Salesforce
- Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM
- HubSpot
- Procurement Sciences (PSci) Awarded AI
- System for Award Management (SAMgov)
- GSA eBuy
- USAspendinggov
- AI-Driven Capture
- Proposal Strategy, Development, and Writing
- Award Winning Proposals
- Enterprise SaaS Sales
- Outbound Prospecting
- Pipeline Build
- Discovery Capture
- Prospect Qualification
- Solution Mapping
- C-Suite Engagement
- Customer-Centric Selling
- Closing Deals
- Revenue Achievement
Certification
- Certificate in Disruptive Strategy: Harvard Business School Certificate in Business Analytics
- From Data to Insights: The Wharton School
- Negotiation Strategies: University of Notre Dame
SALES ACHIEVEMENTS
- CEC: Won $23 million in awarded government contracts with $17.7M achieved using Procurement Sciences (PSci) Awarded AI proposal writing platform.
- Event Performance Group: United States Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) 2023 Spring Research Festival: Exceeded exhibitor sales revenue goal by 27%.
- Empirical Corporation: Won an $11M U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recompete contract.
- XTIVIA: Exceeded annual revenue goals by 20%.
- Deltek: Exceeded annual revenue goals by 20%.
- Deltek: Engineered a successful marketing campaign to win a collaborative $30M annual software sales.
- Recognized with multiple top-tier sales awards, including President’s Club at Deltek and AOL, Deltek’s Key Award for Outstanding Sales Performance (two consecutive years), and Deltek’s Key Award for Persistence.
OTHER EXPERIENCE
HexaCorp — Business Development Executive (March 2023 – August 2023); One Source Consulting — Director of Business Development (November 2019 – January 2021); Merito Group — Director of Business Development (January 2021 – March 2021); AOL — Digital Media Advertising Sales Executive, Digital Media Sales Analyst; Digital Content Account Executive; Partner Marketing Revenue Analyst (May 1994 – July 2007)
Timeline
Business Development Manager
C Evans Consulting (CEC), LLC
08.2023 - Current
Exhibitor Sales Executive (Short-Term Through End of Event)
Event Performance Group (EPG)
11.2022 - 03.2023
Senior Business Development Manager
Empirical Corporation
06.2021 - 11.2022
Senior Client Sales Executive
XTIVIA, Inc.
04.2013 - 10.2019
Client Sales Executive
Deltek, Inc.
10.2007 - 10.2011
Bachelor of Science (BS) - Marketing & Merchandising
West Virginia University
Master of Science (MS) - Marketing
Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School