LUIS FIGUEROA
Destin
Summary
Dynamic business leader with a proven track record at Five Rivers Services, driving 225% revenue growth through strategic federal business development and capture strategies. Expert in pipeline governance and client engagement, leveraging data-driven insights to enhance competitive positioning and achieve sustainable market expansion. Strong communicator and innovative problem solver.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Founder & CEO
Full Expression, LLC
Destin
07.2024 - Current
- Founded and led a strategic advisory firm supporting executive leadership teams in regulated, technically complex markets.
- Advised CEOs, presidents, and senior operators on revenue growth, account expansion, renewal strategy, and commercial positioning while maintaining full P&L responsibility.
- Operated as a hands-on growth leader accountable for strategy, execution quality, and measurable client outcomes.
- Designed disciplined pipeline structures, forecasting models, and performance dashboards that improved revenue predictability, informed investment decisions, and strengthened close-rate performance across direct sales and partnership channels.
- Developed and executed partnership-led GTM models, including co-selling frameworks, integration concepts, and distribution strategies to accelerate customer acquisition, expansion, and monetization.
- Identified and qualified new markets, customer segments, and expansion pathways through structured market analysis, competitive assessment, and opportunity prioritization aligned to client capabilities and risk profiles.
- Built ROI-driven business cases, pricing models, & financial forecasts to assess scalability, margin impact, & capital allocation tradeoffs; translated complex market & financial inputs into executive recommendations.
- Supported acquisition readiness efforts by assessing target capabilities, market fit, commercial synergies, and integration considerations as part of broader portfolio strategies.
- Applied advanced analytics, AI-enabled workflows, & automation to accelerate opportunity assessment, improve forecast accuracy, & increase decision velocity across business development & growth planning functions.
Business Development Director
LMR Technical Group, LLC
Destin
02.2022 - 07.2024
- Led enterprise and federal growth strategy for a technology services firm supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, & civilian agencies.
- Owned the full business development lifecycle-from opportunity identification and capture through proposal execution & award-while partnering directly with executive leadership to drive sustainable revenue growth, pipeline health, & competitive positioning.
- Drove 225% revenue growth over 2.5 years ($6M → $19.5M) by leading complex, consultative sales and capture efforts across DoD and civilian markets, with full accountability for pipeline strategy, bid discipline, and executive-level customer engagement.
- Built and managed a multi-agency opportunity pipeline spanning engineering, IT, life sciences, sports medicine, and mission support services, achieving a 44% win rate across new business and recompetes.
- Led end-to-end capture and proposal execution for both scorecard-based and traditional solicitations (RFP/RFQ) across VA; DoD (Air Force, Marine Corps, Army, Navy, USSOCOM); IC (NGA); HHS, and DOS pursuits-serving as the primary focal point for win strategy, technical narrative development, and customer-facing positioning.
- Transformed proposal velocity and capture effectiveness by integrating AI/LLMs into BD & capture workflows-enabling 10 proposals and 11 RFIs in under 6 months while maintaining compliance, data security, and procurement integrity.
- Improved revenue predictability and forecast accuracy through disciplined pipeline governance, standardized deal qualification, and executive reporting aligned to leadership decision-making.
- Strengthened customer retention and expansion through proactive recompete strategies, senior-level engagement, and value-based positioning across existing accounts.
- Partnered cross-functionally with operations, recruiting, pricing, & technical SMEs to align capture strategies with delivery capacity, staffing readiness, and margin targets, reducing post-award risk and enabling smooth transitions from award to execution.
Founder & CEO
Consultare, LLC
Orlando
10.2020 - 02.2022
- Founded and led a boutique advisory firm providing business development, capture strategy, & technical positioning support to small businesses operating in federal and defense markets.
- Served as a hands-on advisor across opportunity shaping, proposal development, & customer engagement, with a focus on mission-driven organizations supporting national security & public-sector clients.
- Advised multiple small business clients on federal growth strategy, capture planning, and proposal execution, achieving an approximate 40%-win rate across RFIs, RFPs, and SOW-based pursuits.
- Supported defense-focused engagements, including consulting work aligned to USSOCOM mission needs and business development activities in the CBRNE domain, contributing to opportunity positioning and customer-facing narratives.
- Developed capture frameworks, pipeline models, and pricing strategies to help clients prioritize opportunities, assess competitiveness, and align bids with delivery capability and margin objectives.
- Translated customer pain points and technical requirements into clear, value-driven solutions and compliant proposal responses, balancing mission outcomes, risk, and commercial viability.
- (Advisory Practice-Relaunched)
Sr. Consultant | Data Scientist | Sr. Systems Engineer
Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh
09.2015 - 10.2020
- Served as a senior technical and strategic advisor within Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute, supporting federal civilian and defense agencies facing complex regulatory, operational, and technology transformation challenges.
- Operated at the intersection of mission strategy, systems architecture, and solution delivery-advising executive stakeholders on high-risk, high-impact modernization initiatives across aviation, cloud, and telecommunications domains.
- Advised and supported senior leaders across the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, FDA, U.S. Postal Service, and Department of Commerce (NTIA), translating complex technical and regulatory constraints into actionable modernization strategies and investment decisions.
- Led architecture-centric and product-line engineering initiatives supporting next-generation military aviation programs, enabling early virtual integration, risk reduction, and defect identification for complex, safety-critical systems.
- Served as a key technical liaison within the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Consortium, promoting software portability, interoperability, and reuse across the military aviation ecosystem.
- Secured and executed approximately $2M in organic funding, delivering portfolio development, solution design, and program support services aligned to evolving federal mission priorities.
- Led enterprise-level cloud migration and application rationalization efforts for the U.S. Air Force, developing decision frameworks to assess application criticality, security constraints, and operational readiness within AFNET.
- Conducted a comprehensive Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) and 5G strategy study for the U.S. Air Force, evaluating deployment models, risk tradeoffs, and Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) approaches to support scalable, secure enterprise communications.
- Regularly briefed technical and non-technical executives, delivering clear, defensible recommendations in environments characterized by regulatory scrutiny, political sensitivity, and mission-critical risk.
Business Development Capture Manager
Global Connections to Employment (GCE)
Pensacola
11.2014 - 09.2015
- Recruited to establish and lead the company's business development and capture function, owning end-to-end growth strategy across federal and commercial markets.
- Built business development infrastructure from the ground up by establishing pipeline management, pricing strategy, capture methodology, and proposal execution, while serving as the primary driver of new revenue and market expansion initiatives.
- Built and led the full business development lifecycle, including opportunity identification and qualification, capture strategy, pricing, proposal development, negotiations, and transition to delivery-achieving a 50% win rate within the first year.
- Established foundational BD processes and collateral, creating repeatable workflows, pricing models, and corporate messaging that resulted in four new contract awards and a sustainable growth engine.
- Drove mission-aligned growth, creating 120 new employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities while expanding the company's footprint into new IT service offerings.
- Identified and executed new market entry strategies, targeting a $500M addressable cloud services market, securing key partnerships and positioning the organization for long-term contract growth across public and private sectors.
Founder & CEO
Consultare, LLC
Destin
06.2013 - 11.2014
- Founded an early-stage advisory and services firm focused on helping small businesses and civic organizations translate mission needs into executable growth, funding, and technology strategies.
- Operated at the intersection of business development, systems thinking, and technical solution design-supporting capture efforts, grant development, and early product concepting while building foundational skills later applied at scale.
- Led business development and capture support across RFIs, RFPs, and SOWs, aligning client operational challenges with value-driven solution strategies and executable requirements.
- Authored and secured over $30K in grant funding for secondary education initiatives by partnering with school district leadership to define requirements, develop cost models, and craft competitive grant submissions.
- Contributed to the design of a proprietary CRM and BD SaaS concept, defining data structures, workflow logic, user views, and process automation requirements-early experience in product thinking, process engineering, and scalable growth systems.
Director of Business Development
Five Rivers Services (Akima Company)
Colorado Springs
02.2012 - 06.2013
- Recruited to lead and rebuild enterprise business development for a global federal services organization operating across 28 locations.
- Owned end-to-end growth strategy-from market analysis and opportunity shaping through capture execution and award-driving material expansion across DoD and federal civilian markets.
- Rebuilt and professionalized a failing BD organization, establishing a global opportunity pipeline exceeding $250M and generating $85M in funded backlog through seven competitive contract wins.
- Expanded company capabilities into virtualization and cloud computing, opening access to a $500M addressable market and positioning the firm for sustained long-term growth beyond legacy service lines.
- Improved competitive performance to a 40%-win rate in a constrained federal budget environment by resetting capture strategy, tightening qualification discipline, and aligning pursuits to core strengths.
- Drove growth across diverse mission areas, including network operations, cybersecurity, ITSM, secure and non-secure VTC, multimedia services, space operations, environmental services, and training support.
- Influenced enterprise P&L performance for a $34M organization by aligning growth priorities, resource allocation, and capture investment decisions with margin, delivery capacity, and risk posture.
Business Development Executive
Cox Media
Fort Walton Beach
02.2011 - 02.2012
- Recruited to drive net-new B2B revenue through consultative selling of digital and platform-based advertising solutions.
- Owned the full sales lifecycle-from prospecting and business analysis through solution design, negotiation, and close-serving automotive dealerships, service providers, and parts suppliers across a competitive local market.
- Closed 70 net-new contracts in nine months, exceeding annual revenue targets by 123% and ranking among top-performing sellers in the market.
- Applied data-driven selling methodologies, leveraging Nielsen, Google Analytics, and market intelligence to diagnose client needs, tailor solutions, and optimize campaign performance.
Director of Business Development
Akmaaq (Akima Company)
Anchorage
06.2010 - 12.2010
- Recruited to evaluate growth viability and lead business development strategy across multiple subsidiaries operating in energy, construction, environmental services, security, IT, maintenance, and commodities.
- Led enterprise-wide pipeline development, opportunity qualification, and post-8(a) transition strategy for companies entering full-and-open competition.
- Conducted a comprehensive assessment of a $500M opportunity pipeline, aligning pursuit strategy with core competencies, contract vehicles, and competitive positioning across five subsidiary companies.
- Advised executive leadership on portfolio viability and capital allocation, delivering data-driven recommendations that resulted in over $4M in operating cost avoidance through disciplined strategic exit and resource reallocation.
- Led post-8(a) graduation strategy development, establishing processes for opportunity qualification, capture planning, and competitive positioning in unrestricted federal and commercial markets.
- Managed geographically distributed BD activities, supporting client engagement and market intelligence across multiple regions while coordinating with corporate leadership.
Deputy Director of Business Development
Aleut Management Services
Colorado Springs
09.2009 - 06.2010
- Entrusted with enterprise-wide business development and strategic planning for a $126M multi-subsidiary organization, supporting five operating companies across engineering, IT, communications, construction, and logistics.
- Partnered with executive leadership to reset growth strategy, strengthen market positioning, and drive disciplined backlog creation across diverse lines of business.
- Generated $25M in funded backlog while simultaneously reducing overhead by $350K, balancing aggressive growth objectives with operational discipline and cost control.
- Led restructuring of the business development function, introducing standardized pursuit processes, opportunity qualification frameworks, and performance accountability across subsidiary teams.
- Authored and executed a comprehensive enterprise growth strategy, aligning corporate objectives, subsidiary capabilities, and target markets to improve competitiveness and long-term sustainability across all operating units.
Director of Operations
Five Rivers Services (Akima Company)
Colorado Springs
03.2007 - 09.2009
- Served as the senior operational leader for a $34M, 280-person international services firm, overseeing day-to-day operations, financial performance, and delivery across 17 concurrent federal contracts spanning IT, telecommunications, network operations, and multimedia services in six countries.
- Held full P&L accountability, led distributed teams across multiple time zones, & partnered closely with executive leadership to scale the organization rapidly while strengthening operational discipline & customer outcomes.
- Scaled the organization from $1.7M to $34M in under two years, expanding from 45 to 240 employees and from 3 to 17 active contracts while securing $66M+ in backlog and maintaining delivery quality and financial control.
- Built the company's operational backbone, designing and implementing an ISO 9001-compliant Quality Management System, enterprise risk management framework, standardized service delivery models, and a leadership development pipeline to support rapid scale.
- Institutionalized execution discipline, introducing PMI-based project management methodologies and Shipley-inspired business development processes that aligned capture, delivery, and financial performance across the enterprise.
- Established and governed operating and B&P budgets, implementing indirect rate controls and financial management mechanisms that sustained a 10.6% net margin across 17 simultaneous contracts.
- Supported mission-critical federal initiatives, including assisting FEMA with the architecture of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) by identifying system constraints, dependencies, and data flows across primary entry points and supporting infrastructure.
Business Development | Program Manager
Truestone (Akima Company)
Colorado Springs
04.2006 - 03.2007
- Joined the organization as a Program Manager immediately following military service, assuming responsibility for a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) federal contract supporting the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service.
- Quickly established credibility in delivery execution, financial management, and stakeholder engagement, leading to expanded responsibilities in business development within the first two months.
- Led a 78-person geographically dispersed team, managing scope, cost, risk, procurement, and resource allocation while exceeding profit margin targets and federal customer expectations.
- Oversaw network services operations and maintenance for DOI, serving as the primary interface between technical teams, contracting officials, and executive stakeholders.
- Recognized for technical writing, briefing, and executive communication skills, resulting in early transition into the business development function to support capture, partner engagement, and opportunity shaping.
- Contributed to $49M in new business revenue, supporting proposal development, technology evaluations, client relationship building, and partner coordination across emerging federal opportunities.
- Established a strong professional reputation across Akima companies, leading to recruitment by Five Rivers Services leadership for expanded operational and growth responsibilities.
Cyberspace Operations Officer (Honorable Discharge)
U.S. Air Force
08.2002 - 05.2006
- Supported Air Force Space Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, NORAD, and U.S. Northern Command.
Education
Master of Arts - Information Systems Management
Webster University
01.2005
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
University of West Florida
01.2000
Skills
- Federal Growth & GTM Leadership
- Federal BD & Capture
- Technical & Analytical Fluency
- Opportunity Shaping
- Capture Strategy
- AI/LLM-enabled BD workflows
- C-Suite Customer Engagement
- Win Strategy
- RFI/RFP Proposal Governance
- Cloud & Enterprise Modernization
- Pipeline Governance
- Forecasting
- Strategic Teaming
- Ecosystem Development
- ROI Models
- Financial Forecasting
- Pricing
- Deal Structuring & Negotiation
- Recompete Strategy
- Competitive Positioning
- Edge/IoT
- Mission Tech Translation
- Gate Reviews
- Bid/No-Bid Governance
- IDIQ/GWAC/BPA/TO
- Scorecard Solicitations
- Solution Shaping
- Tech Win Themes
- Proposal development
- Pipeline management
- Revenue growth strategies
- Strategic advisory
- Competitive positioning
- Business development
- Market analysis
- Capture strategy
- Client relationship management
- Team leadership
- Decision making
- Effective communication
- Problem solving
- Data-driven insights
- Contract negotiation
- Board collaboration
- Revenue generation
- Business planning
- Project management
- Strategic thinking
- Talent acquisition
- Market Knowledge
- Cash flow management
- Strategic planning
- Recruitment and hiring
- Contract management
- Partnership building
- Product roadmaps
- Goal setting
- Marketing
- Organizational structuring
- Board reporting
- Growth mindset
- Intellectual property
- Industry expertise
- Innovation management
- Start-up operations
- Consulting
- Policies and procedures development
- Human resources
- Negotiation
- Entrepreneurial and innovative
- Operations management
- Program oversight
- Decision-making
Websites
Personal Information
Title: Resilient Business Leader | Strategic Innovator | Growth Catalyst
Languages
English
Full Professional
Spanish
Professional
Timeline
Founder & CEO
Full Expression, LLC
07.2024 - Current
Business Development Director
LMR Technical Group, LLC
02.2022 - 07.2024
Founder & CEO
Consultare, LLC
10.2020 - 02.2022
Sr. Consultant | Data Scientist | Sr. Systems Engineer
Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
09.2015 - 10.2020
Business Development Capture Manager
Global Connections to Employment (GCE)
11.2014 - 09.2015
Founder & CEO
Consultare, LLC
06.2013 - 11.2014
Director of Business Development
Five Rivers Services (Akima Company)
02.2012 - 06.2013
Business Development Executive
Cox Media
02.2011 - 02.2012
Director of Business Development
Akmaaq (Akima Company)
06.2010 - 12.2010
Deputy Director of Business Development
Aleut Management Services
09.2009 - 06.2010
Director of Operations
Five Rivers Services (Akima Company)
03.2007 - 09.2009
Business Development | Program Manager
Truestone (Akima Company)
04.2006 - 03.2007
Cyberspace Operations Officer (Honorable Discharge)
U.S. Air Force
08.2002 - 05.2006
Master of Arts - Information Systems Management
Webster University
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
University of West Florida