THE SMS EXECUTIVE TEAM
Welcome to SMS! Our company starts with the people and our collaborative and supportive philosophy that make us a success. Thank you for your interest, we hope you'll take the time to get to know us and what we do.
Matt Rosecan
President & CEO
Matthew Rosecan serves as President & CEO of SMS. He has nearly two decades with the company, spanning positions in human resources, quality assurance, and business development, where he led efforts to acquire several new federal civilian customers by targeting agency needs for technology modernization and migration.
Mr. Rosecan is responsible for the company’s strategic direction and is focused on continuing SMS’ history of optimizing, innovating, and securing its customers’ critical environments.
He has a Master of Business Administration degree from The George Washington University.
John Ladd
Chief Operating Officer
John Ladd is the Chief Operating Officer of SMS. Joining SMS twenty-five years ago, he now leads corporate strategy, policies, process, and organization structure for SMS' Service Delivery Organization, including driving our quality certifications.
Mr. Ladd works collaboratively with customers, often in an advisory capacity, for large-scale transitions, project initiations, and business/mission processes. His forty years of IT experience includes lead network architect for the Pentagon Renovation Program, and the author for the Pentagon’s IT Master Plan, guiding both technical design and policy that are still in existence today. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Western New England College.
Luis Laranjeira
Executive Vice President
Luis Laranjeira is the Executive Vice President for SMS. With three decades of experience in the IT industry, his career includes executive leadership positions at Xylan Corporation, Alcatel Corporation, and SMS. Mr. Laranjeira’s IT background includes over thirty years of direct federal experience supporting mission-critical DoD, intelligence, and federal clients in various capacities.
He provides overall business development leadership and strategic partner alliances for SMS and directly manages major and critical client accounts, as well as internal proposals and capture.
Mel Shipley
Vice President, HR
Melanie Shipley is Vice President of Human Resources. In this role, she is responsible for supporting a full range of corporate activities such as training initiatives and career development. Prior to joining SMS over twenty years ago, Ms. Shipley was the manager of human resources and payroll for a large software provider where she established a broad range of human resource and payroll initiatives.
Ms. Shipley has completed over twenty-one years of continuous security training, education, and certification for the Department of Defense and Industry from the Center of Development of Security Excellence (CDSE). She is a long-standing member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), American Payroll Association (APA), and The Society of Industrial Security Professionals (NCMS).
Juan Morales
Chief Financial Officer
Juan Morales is the Chief Financial Officer of SMS, working on the finance and operations side of the business to ensure an efficient customer, partner, and employee experience. Mr. Morales has worked for SMS for over thirty years and is responsible for directing the financial functions of the company and aligning them with the company’s strategic objectives.
He holds his CPA and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from The George Washington University.
Neil Belden
General Counsel
Neil Belden has been with SMS for over two decades and serves as General Counsel and Secretary of the company. A former litigator in Washington, DC, Mr. Belden brings a wealth of knowledge in the areas of public contracts, employment law, and intellectual property. Having served as the Information Assurance Manager and Deputy Security Manager at USAITA NISO, Mr. Belden also provides information security expertise.
He is a graduate of Hamilton College and received his J.D. from Vermont Law School.
Chuck Luedke
Chief Technology Officer
Chuck Luedke is the Chief Technology Officer for SMS. Mr. Luedke brings over thirty-five years of leadership in the IT industry to this role. Since joining SMS twenty-five years ago, he has led major efforts such as the Pentagon’s Joint Services Program (JSP) – the former Information Technology Agency (ITA) – and DISA’s Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS). As CTO, Mr. Luedke is responsible for SMS’ continued focus on innovative engineering and technology approaches both internally and for our customers and partners.
Chuck served proudly as a Marine for twenty years, retiring with the rank of Gunnery Sergeant.
Andrew Stanley
Chief Innovation Officer
Andrew Stanley serves as SMS’ Chief Innovation Officer. Andrew joined SMS in 2002 as a junior network engineer, where he leveraged his military training to support critical Department of Defense IT infrastructures and led key programs for the Executive Office of the President and DARPA. Promoted to Director of Engineering in 2021, Andrew focused on talent development and innovative solutions, shaping company culture.
After earning a private pilot’s license at 16 and serving as an Information Systems Analyst in the U.S. Army, his leadership skills led him to the Army’s Green to Gold program, where he earned a degree in information technology from George Mason University.
Ben Friedman
Vice President, Strategic Sourcing
Ben Friedman has worked with SMS for over twenty-five years and is the Vice President of Strategic Sourcing. With expertise in managing complex purchasing and process management solutions for the company’s contracts with both federal and vendor partners, Mr. Friedman oversees the company’s procurement programs, supply chain asset management, process management, order management, and overall customer satisfaction.
Mr. Friedman is a graduate of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and received his M.A. from The George Washington University. He holds a number of industry certifications including PMP, C.P.M., CPSM and CPSD.
Lexley Bender
Vice President, Communications
Lexley Bender is the Vice President of Communications for SMS. Ms. Bender has thirty-five years of experience in the IT industry, including twelve years with SMS. Ms. Bender is responsible for SMS’ proposal response and IDIQ capture teams as well as supporting internal and external communications. Her multi-functional experience is critical as she collaborates across all departments to implement communications plans in support of the company’s strategic and organizational goals.
Ms. Bender graduated with honors from Rutgers University with a Bachelors in Business Administration and has served on several industry boards.
Scott Darwin
Vice President, Service Delivery
Scott Darwin is the Vice President of Service Delivery for SMS. Mr. Darwin brings over 30 years of leadership and management experience to his role. During the last 6 years with SMS, Scott has held various positions within the Service Delivery organization to include; NETCENTS 2 Program Management Office (PMO), Program/Project Manager, and Regional Director.
Mr. Darwin has worked for large enterprises like HP and EDS as well as smaller companies focused on providing network solutions consulting. He’s run global network teams, organizational transformations, enterprise tools consolidations programs as well as living in India for 14 months while standing up a new network engineering capability. He understands how to work with team members throughout an organization to help everyone succeed by reaching their objectives.
Scott graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in economics. In addition, he also spent 8 years in the United States Army as an Infantry Officer.
Interested in a Career With Us?
SMS is known not only for our reputation of technical excellence but also for our passionate and knowledgeable staff. We are continuously looking for talented, motivated individuals who want to become part of a dynamic team with an established track record of supporting the federal government.