Sotera Defense Solutions yesterday said that Deborah Alderson will be its new president and CEO, succeeding John Hillen who is becoming vice chairman of the company’s advisory board.

Alderson, who will take over at Sotera effective July 8, comes from SRA International where she was executive vice president and chief operating officer. Alderson joined SRA as executive vice president for Strategic Development in 2011 after serving as president of the Defense Solutions Group at SAIC [SAI].

Deb Alderson Photo: Sotera

“We are excited that Deb has chosen to join Sotera and we believe that she will bring the energy and experience to drive Sotera forward to its next phase of growth,” Matt Cwiertnia, Sotera’s chairman, said in a statement.

Sotera announced in May that Hillen would be stepping down as its top executive. In the interim, the company is being led by William Cave and Laurie Villano as co-CEOs.

Sotera is a mid-tier defense and security company providing counter-terrorism, cyber operations, intelligence, data analytics and C4ISR systems, services and solutions to the intelligence community, Defense and Homeland Security Departments. Sotera is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Ares Management.