Pat Host 
- Matt Ford, Realm One CEO, has more than 20 years experience in the IC
- He became CEO after company founder Gary Daigle retired in June
- Ford sat down with ExecutiveBiz to talk company culture, RealmOne’s Foundry and why he chose GovCon
Matt Ford is a GovCon executive who prioritizes servant leadership. This is when a CEO focuses on the growth and well-being of employees and other stakeholders.
Ford, RealmOne CEO, has more than 20 years of experience in the intelligence community, having spent his career running diverse programs supporting mission-critical infrastructure, development and data management. Since joining the firm in 2018 as chief operating officer, he tackled whole company alignment and driving optimal outcomes for customers, their missions and the team.
Ford became CEO in June after company founder Gary Daigle retired. Ford sat down for his first Spotlight interview to discuss RealmOne’s culture when things are going well and when a contract is under pressure, a career accomplishment he’s proud of, why he chose GovCon and a major initiative he’s leading.
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ExecutiveBiz: What is an accomplishment from your career that you are most proud of?
Matt Ford: With a career in the intelligence community, accomplishments can sometimes be very difficult to express. I always carry a heavy burden for people, whether that be customers or employees, because of my background in program management.
Since I joined RealmOne in 2018, we’ve gone from just 60 employees to hundreds. Being able to scale and, most importantly, protect culture as we’ve scaled, is something precious to me. Seeing our amazing people stay with us and winning Top Workplace, including in 2025 from USA Today and 2024 from the Baltimore Sun, is certainly near the top.
EBiz: How did you become a GovCon executive? Why did you pick this career path?
Ford: I was 16 years old on Tuesday, September 11th, 2001. I can vividly remember being in my American History class when another teacher burst through the door telling us to turn on the news. Horrified is the only word that comes to mind when I recall how I felt.
Growing up in Howard County, Maryland, I had friends whose parents worked in national security. I remember asking them about it immediately after and resolving that I wanted to be a part of it. I first began my career in GovCon at 21 years old while I was still in college and never looked back.
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EBiz: What is a major initiative that you are leading?
Ford: We are focused on an expansion of our RealmOne Foundry innovation hub. RealmOne opened the Foundry back in 2012 and it has been delivering problem-solving capabilities and prototypes since.
It’s also our experimentation and training center, a way for our team to upskill and gain hands-on experience. We just recently held a ribbon cutting for the expansion and are already engaging our partners and customers in the government, defense industrial base and academia to collaborate.
EBiz: How would you describe RealmOne’s culture when things are going well and when a contract is under significant pressure?
Ford: People and mission are the two hallmarks of our culture. When we are at our best, RealmOne is confident and innovative, with relentless focus on how we can create or use the best technology to accomplish the mission of our customers.
I want to hover on that word: mission. We support the national security mission, day in and day out. Pressure is a part of the job. That is why we focus so much cultural energy on ensuring our team has a mission connection and knows that their work matters. That connection helps keep us centered on delivering solutions and outcomes, not just contract data requirements lists, or CDRLs.
What about when the pressure increases? That’s why resilient execution is part of our strategy at RealmOne. That word—resilient—matters. Setbacks and pressure don’t become a crisis and we maintain composure and intention amidst challenges. Challenge fuels innovation, innovation drives us forward and national security depends on that innovation.
