National security is front and center for UR grad
Corporate law may not conjure up television images of lawyers making impassioned arguments during murder trials. But Greg Hayken, a veteran in-house counsel with 22 years of corporate legal experience, finds the work fascinating and exciting, nevertheless.
Three years ago, the 1998 University of Richmond leadership studies and political science alum joined CACI International as a vice president and deputy general counsel. The Northern Virginia-based CACI is a $7.7 billion multinational professional services and information technology company. The Fortune 500 firm provides services to many branches of the U.S. government, with a particular focus on national security and government modernization — areas that align with current federal government priorities.
“At CACI, I work with the presidents of the individual business sectors and their leadership teams,” Hayken said. “I bring a generalist’s breadth as well as a specialist’s depth to certain areas, including government contracts, ethics investigations, and cybersecurity.
“My value add is the perspective I bring by virtue of my experience. I spot risks that may not be obvious to others, and I guide my clients to solutions and outcomes. I understand relationships and how our government decision makers operate.”
The variety of legal issues he handles keeps things interesting, he said, adding that he derives great satisfaction from contributing to the company’s commitment to safeguard America: “People don’t work on government contracts in the heavily regulated defense industry to become rich. We are attracted to it because we believe in defending and supporting the country.”
The alum said he developed a love for tackling complex government claims early on while working for BAE Systems, a global aerospace, defense, commercial, and cybersecurity company. A particularly memorable experience at BAE involved his leading recovery efforts for more than $120 million in claims for the U.S. government related to the performance of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Radford, Virginia.
BAE won the contract to work with the plant, which manufactures propellants and explosives for the U.S. military. But litigation initiated by the previous contractor delayed BAE’s contract for three years.
“When we finally took over the contract, the facility was in disarray,” Hayken said. “We invested $120 million to get it up to the necessary operating level. It was my job to recover that money through a series of contract claims and negotiations. I spent three weeks at the plant in an acid suit learning everything I could about the acid-manufacturing process. At night, I dug through files.”
His success in negotiating these claims affirmed his desire to work in corporate law related to national defense, he said. Having earned his Juris Doctor degree from Boston University School of Law in 2001, he decided to return to law school in 2006, this time pursuing a Master of Laws in government procurement at The George Washington University Law School. He graduated with highest honors in 2008 and was awarded the law school’s Patricia Tobin Award for Excellence in Government Procurement Law in 2009.
Law degrees aside, Hayken recalled the profound impact of two leadership studies classes he took as a Richmond undergraduate: Critical Thinking and Leadership Ethics.
“The principles I learned in these classes taught me how to reason through problems logically while weighing competing values and then making decisions that take into account the perspectives of everyone involved,” he said. “Influence isn’t about authority, it’s about credibility. The ability to distill a complex issue, gain trust, and then guide a team through tough choices has everything to do with leadership. That’s my approach.”