Charles Lyons-Burt 
Mike Santelli’s path into government contracting started with an audit and turned into a decades-long leadership career across some of the sector’s most mission-driven businesses.
In an Executive Spotlight interview conducted ahead of Evolver’s newly unveiled rebrand, Santelli reflected on how an early assignment auditing U.S. Investigation Services introduced him to a company in transition and to the federal market more broadly. That experience led him from public accounting into an internal finance role, a move he said shaped the direction of his career from that point forward.
Over the years, Santelli has gone on to lead and help scale GovCon and mission services businesses serving customers across the intelligence community, Department of War, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, building a reputation around growth execution, operational discipline, financial strategy and culture-focused leadership.
Now, as CEO of Evolver, the company formerly known as Converged Security Solutions, Santelli is leading another transformation effort, this time centered on brand clarity, organizational unification and a more focused growth strategy. During the conversation, he discussed the thinking behind the new identity, the market opportunities he sees ahead and the cybersecurity challenges he believes deserve more attention.
ExecutiveBiz: Let’s talk about the Evolver rebrand. What does it mean for the company and its culture?
Mike Santelli: The rebrand as Evolver is about stating our purpose by planting a flag in the ground. Both of the businesses that make up Evolver are not young businesses. They’ve been around 20-plus years, but they came together in 2018 to form Converged Security Solutions, which is the name we’re now getting away from.
We’re really going through a metamorphosis with the company after six or seven years of private equity ownership. We’re still owned by the same private equity group, but our brand is about stating our purpose and driving meaningful change. And that starts with clarity of who we are, what we are, how we do what we do and why.
There’s also a unification objective. For a mid-tier company, we had too many entities and brands in market. Evolver Federal, Evolver Commercial, Evolver Legal Services, eVigilant, all under the former mothership of Converged Security Solutions. It created confusion.
We’re breaking all that down for clarity and consistency, and to leverage the talent we have across these sub-brands into one Evolver brand. It’s a simple, meaningful name that conveys a call to action, change and innovation. It’s going to simplify messaging to our customers, the market and our employees, because many could use definition about how we’re structured.
Our culture and values are not changing. We’ve built a culture around engagement and respect, following some of the Covey principles around the speed of trust and empowering people. I think of culture as how decisions get made. In our case, it’s collaborative and the best idea wins.
Our values are built on four simple pillars: Integrity and teamwork on the culture side. Winning together and team excellence on the delivery side.
We’re proud of the culture. Our engagement scores are consistently above market, and we have about a 93 percent retention rate, which speaks to Evolver being a place people want to be.
EBiz: Are your focus areas changing under Evolver, or are you targeting new markets?
Santelli: We’re sticking to what we do, but elevating it.
We’re a technology-enabled services business. We don’t build products, but we bring together the right technologies and integrate them. We are now really emphasizing that technology enabled service.
Through Evolver Innovative Technology Solutions, or EITS, we’re combining commercial software like post-quantum cryptography and AI with our expertise to deliver integrated solutions for government customers.
That’s the big change: Stronger partnerships and bringing turnkey implementations to agencies.
We organize our business into three competency pillars:
- Data security: Cybersecurity and electronic security, including critical infrastructure and data center protection
- Digital transformation: Application development, DevSecOps, plus UX, CX and emerging tech like post-quantum cryptography
- Managed data and IT: Includes litigation support, eDiscovery and traditional IT services like cloud, networks and end-user support
On the customer side, we’ve always been strong in national security and law enforcement, including DHS, DOJ, FBI, CBP and others. We also serve the CMS and NIH components of HHS through our health IT offerings. Finally, we’re expanding further into the Department of War with MDA SHIELD and support of military branches, including the Army and the Navy.
We also maintain a commercial business, especially with financial services customers and through legal technology services, including serving several large, Fortune 500 clients.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for GovCon overall… focus on what’s in your circle of control. If it’s outside of that, don’t waste energy on it, but have a plan to address contingencies and move quickly.”
EBiz: What’s the growth plan for Evolver over the next five years?
Santelli: Our plan, Evolver Strategy 2028, builds on these capabilities and customers.
We’ve made acquisitions in the past, including Solutions by Design II in 2023. We intend to continue to be acquisitive and also focus on organic growth and winning larger prime contracts.
We are squarely in the mid-tier from a size standpoint and have built an outstanding platform with a strong management team and impressive technical competence. The space we find ourselves in is quite competitive, but it’s a challenge we welcome and we’re proud our team can distinguish itself in this space.
Our goal is to double the size of the business again within three to four years. We’ve done it once, over the last 5 years, and now we’re aiming to do it again. We’re going to keep building for opportunity and optionality. Whether our ownership changes or not, our job is to keep building value for employees, customers and stakeholders.
EBiz: What’s an under-discussed federal cyber vulnerability?
Santelli: Post-quantum cryptography.
There’s a misconception that it’s a future problem, perhaps five to ten years out, but it’s already here because of “harvest now, decrypt later” threats. Data is being collected today by adversaries with the intent to break it later.
That makes it a current national security concern. Digital signatures, PKI and blockchain all could be exposed over time. I think it is an under-discussed and under-resourced threat that government and industry should be actioning and solving for.
Evolver is working on this challenge through a partnership with a company named Quantum Xchange and a solution called Evolver SHIELD. It’s about helping agencies take practical steps now. CISA has initiatives around this as well, but with long-term action plans. A more systemic understanding and more urgency should be driven by government leadership and industry.
EBiz: What are the biggest challenges to achieving your strategy?
Santelli: First is alignment and ownership. People need to be empowered and held accountable, but only after they have a clear understanding of how they fit in the strategic plan and in what area of freedom they have to operate. Additionally, incentives need to match long-term goals, not just short-term performance.
Second is resource allocation. You have to invest ahead of returns, in people, partnerships and technology. That can mean softer short-term financial results, but it’s necessary for long-term success.
Third is resistance to change. As the saying goes, culture eats strategy for breakfast. We focus on transparency so people understand where we’re going, even if they have a different perspective on the decision.
Communication is critical. We use a structured, cascading approach to make sure people understand and buy in.
EBiz: Anything else you’d like to add?
Santelli: It’s been a tough couple of years for GovCon overall.
What I tell people is to focus on what’s in your circle of control. If it’s outside of that, don’t waste energy on it, but have a plan to address contingencies and move quickly.
Challenges are opportunities to get stronger. Every time you go through something difficult, your “bubble of pain” expands, and you become more confident handling uncertainty.
It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you respond to it. That applies in business and in life.
Who Is Mike Santelli?
Mike Santelli is the CEO of Evolver, the Reston, Virginia-based technology-enabled services company that recently rebranded from Converged Security Solutions.
His career in GovCon traces back to the late 1990s, when he moved from public accounting into U.S. Investigation Services after working on the company as an auditor with PwC. From there, he held a series of finance, strategy and operational leadership roles, eventually leading major business segments and helping drive acquisitions, integration work and growth initiatives. His experience has spanned areas including security services, litigation support, IT and mission-focused professional services.
Before taking the top role at Converged Security Solutions in 2019 and continuing in that position as CEO of Evolver in 2026, Santelli served for several private equity portfolio companies, including as CEO at OMNIPLEX World Services and as CFO for System High. He has also worked as a board member and in an advisory capacity with private equity firms and their portfolio companies across those roles, and he has built a career around transforming organizations, aligning operations with strategy and helping companies grow while serving high-priority federal missions.
Santelli holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Vanderbilt University.
What Is Evolver?
Evolver is a mid-tier government and commercial services company focused on technology-enabled offerings in areas including cybersecurity, digital transformation, managed IT and data-related services.
The company’s new brand follows years of operating under the Converged Security Solutions name, which brought together multiple businesses and sub-brands under one broader structure.
