ABOUT US

Makwa Global Senior Leadership

Anne Defot-Sido

Anne Defot-Sido

Chief Executive Officer

Anne Defot-Sido comes to us with almost twenty years of experience, making her an expert in government contracting, procurement, the federal marketplace, acquisition practices, and federal contract mechanisms. Anne’s passion for team building and data-driven decision making aligns perfectly with our company's values, culture, and mission. In her previous role at Akima, Anne pioneered a newly implemented growth strategy team, leading them to an impressive double-digit improvement in win rate for the organization’s top deals. We are excited to have someone with such a proven track record of success on board.

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Scot Kramer

Scot Kramer

Chief Financial Officer

Scot brings over 35 years of industry and government finance & contracting experience to the role, where he will support the company’s growth strategy and vision. He will be responsible for helping to lead Makwa's growth in the financial and pricing strategy areas. Before joining Makwa Global, for ten (10) years, Scot served as the Executive Vice President for Akima LLC, the second largest ANC/Tribal Entity Owned Business with over $2B in annual revenue. Before that, Scot was the Executive Director of Pricing and Finance with CACI (a $6B company) for over ten years. He remains actively involved in federal business contracts, finances, development, proposal, and budget management. Scot has a BS in Accounting from George Washington University.

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Angela Rakow

Angela Rakow

Chief Growth Officer

Angela brings 20 years of experience to the role. Before joining Makwa Global, Angela held various positions spanning proposal management to Vice President of Corporate Development Operations. She started in industry with Strategic Insight, where she provided technical and coordination support to the Department of Navy’s Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems. Angela then joined Deloitte and was responsible for proposal management in the Defense Government Consulting Services. She subsequently supported Akima (one of the largest Alaska Native Corporations) as their Vice President of Corporate Development Operations during a period of record growth where she was the executive overseeing significant shared services functions including proposals, capture, business intelligence, and the PMO.  Angela most recently was the Vice President for Business Development and Proposal Operations of Tenax Aerospace where she implemented industry leading best practices, policies, and procedures to position the BD and proposal teams to grow the Airborne-ISR portfolio. 

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 Ben Marglin

Ben Marglin

President, Professional Services

Ben brings over 25 years of industry experience, including program execution, client relationship management, business development, people leadership, and corporate operations. He is responsible for helping to lead and grow the Makwa Global Professional Services portfolio. Before joining Makwa Global, Ben most recently was the Vice President of Business Development for Centennial Technologies where he led all aspects of the business development lifecycle. Previously, Ben held a position at Karsun Solutions as the Senior Vice President for Client Delivery, where he provided executive leadership for Karsun’s client engagements, building strong relationships to guide the delivery teams. Prior to that, Ben spent 17 years as a Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton within their Strategic Innovation Group and led a $100M account portfolio in the Federal Civilian market. He has a M.P.P. in Public Policy from Duke University and a B.A. in Government from Colby College.

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Jim Enicks

Jim Enicks

President, IT & Cyber

Jim brings over 30 years of industry, military, and government experience to the role, where he will support the company’s growth strategy and vision. He is responsible for leading and growing the Makwa Global IT/Cyber portfolio. Before joining Makwa Global, Jim most recently was the CEO for Corvus Consulting, a subsidiary of Castellum. Prior to joining Corvus, Jim served as the President of Five Rivers Services, LLC and Synteras, both subsidiaries of Akima, LLC, a $1.3 billion government contractor. Previously, he held senior positions at SRA International and SAIC after serving over 25 years on active duty in the U.S. Army with his last tour of duty at CENTCOM. He has an MBA from Central Michigan University and his undergraduate degree in business from Indiana State University.

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Andy Veal

Andy Veal

SVP, Global Operations

Andy brings more than 30 years of law enforcement, government, and security experience to Makwa Global. Before joining Team Makwa, Andy was with DECO Inc. as Program Manager for the Global Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program and developed or assisted in developing other international courses and security training programs. He served as the Deputy Director General of a company in the United Arab Emirates. He was responsible for building the team to implement the pre-construction, construction, operational phases of security, and security training for the emerging civil nuclear energy program of Abu Dhabi and the Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA). Andy has served in other roles, such as East Africa Manager, where he managed the training and security efforts in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Sudan. He was the Chief Compliance Officer for a major security provider and conducted security and quality assurance in the USA, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries.

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Teri Twigg

Teri Twigg

Vice President, Administration

Teri is a seasoned executive who began her 20+ year career at NASA, overseeing multiple contracts valued at $50M per annum. She has deep experience creating policies and processes to support growing teams and navigating the complex relationships and compliance challenges of organizations and agencies, such as the DOS, DOD, and DHS. Having worked in both the private and government sectors, she brings invaluable insights into Makwa's many business units. Her ability to execute big ideas and bring together the best talent has made her a key player in scaling organizations and initiatives from inception to exponential growth.

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Ron Kissel

Ron Kissel

Vice President, Operations

Ron joined Makwa in early 2020 with an expansive 30-year career in government security contract service. This includes supporting several federal agencies through major events such as Oklahoma City Federal Courthouse bombing, 9/11, as well as the Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Wars. Prior to joining Makwa, he served as the Regional Vice President for American Security for 5 years.  He also previously served as VP of Operation at DECO, Inc. and was responsible for 2,000+ armed employees working under Homeland Security-Federal Protective Service across eight states. In addition to domestic contracts, he supported DECO’s numerous OCONUS contracts worldwide.  Prior to DECO, he supported Akal Security as Assistant Director-Homeland Security Division.

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Stephanie Magyera Semanko

Stephanie Magyera Semanko

Vice President, Contract Administration

Stephanie is an experienced business development and marketing professional with over 20 years of demonstrated history of working in the government, commercial, and private industries. Prior to Makwa, Stephanie spent 16 years at DECO, Inc. in which she was instrumental in helping grow the business from $24M to at one point over $120M with a global presence in over 100 countries. Serving in roles from Business Development Specialist to Vice President, she managed the business development and proposal process for more than 55 contract awards, 110 task order awards, and 2,500 training course awards. Prior to DECO, she served in marketing roles in the telecommunications and data networking industries. In addition to government contracts, she is a passionate entrepreneur with interests in business startups, consulting, as well as commercial and residential real estate.

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Erin Burns

Erin Burns

Vice President, Human Resources

Erin joined Makwa with over 15 years of diverse human resources and human capital experience.  For over a decade, Erin served as Human Resources Director at DECO, Inc. where she built human resource programs for over 2,000 employees both in CONUS and OCONUS environments. She is a strong advocate for company culture and making Makwa a vibrant place to work. Erin is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

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Albert Hepp

Albert Hepp

Vice President, Finance

Albert is a finance professional with 25 years of experience leading startup businesses into becoming multi-million-dollar enterprises. A seasoned entrepreneur with a strategic mindset who thrives on ambiguity, his roles have included: recruiting team members to support operational and financial needs as companies experience fast growth; sourcing and developing systems to support revenue and staff growth; and driving effective compliance solutions in regulated marketplaces while maintaining efficiency and focus on the customer. Albert is a well-rounded executive with experience in disruptive innovation, high stakes negotiations, regulatory challenges, and gaining market share against well-funded and established competitors. He has a track record of creative and sometimes unconventional solutions. His development of organizational cultures focuses on the customer, inclusion, and teams of servant leaders. 

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OUR HISTORY AnD CULTURE

Makwa Global, LLC and companies are owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

In the mid-1700s, the ancestors of today’s Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe settled near Lake Mille Lacs in what is now considered Central Minnesota and established a way of life. The Ojibwe hunted, fished, gathered wild rice, and taught their children a profound respect for nature. While enduring hardship and poverty in the face of pressures from the non-Indian culture, they dreamt of a better future. Determined, proud, and resourceful as a people, they have preserved a rich culture for hundreds of years.

Picture of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe

The Mille Lacs Band has become a model for Indian tribes across the country, exemplifying diversified economic development and providing meaningful services and benefits to its members and neighbors.

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, through Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, now owns over 30 businesses worldwide, employs nearly 5,000 people and is the 40th largest employer in Minnesota. These businesses have supported building and improving schools, health care facilities, community centers, a water treatment facility, roads, ceremonial buildings, and more. In addition, funds have been donated to food shelves, schools, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and other organizations that serve the entire community.

Global Presence

The Makwa Global portfolio of companies maintains a presence throughout the world and performs work in over 30 countries. Our diversified government contracting subsidiaries offer tailor-made solutions to our customers’ complex missions. We take pride in our ability to deploy the best people, processes, and security equipment around the world.

Makwa Global Locations

Customers Served

Our senior leadership team has been working with government agencies for over a combined 75 years of experience. These agencies span every industry and corner of government.

Department of Agriculture
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Defense
Department of Engraving and Printing
Department of Engraving and Printing
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Justice
Department of Justice
Department of State
Department of State
Department of Transportation
Department of Transportation
Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental Protection Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard