Inside HX5 How Margarita Howard Leads a Growing Defense Contractor
Running a government contractor that serves the Department of Defense and NASA across 90 locations and 34 states demands precision at every level. Margarita Howard, sole owner and CEO/president of HX5, has built and maintained that precision over more than two decades, growing the Fort Walton Beach, Florida company from a startup in 2004 to a firm with more than 1,000 employees.
HX5’s work centers on professional mission support services, a category that requires consistent performance and close adherence to federal compliance standards. Howard has spoken plainly about the stakes. “It’s important that a company’s records are impeccable when working with the government due to the compliance reporting and audits that companies have to agree to perform on government contracts,” she has noted. Getting that right, she argues, is not optional for any firm that wants to sustain a relationship with federal clients.
Building Trust With Federal Agencies
Margarita Howard’s credibility in the federal space was shaped by years working within the government’s own systems. Her role in rolling out the Tricare program, the Department of Defense’s health care management initiative, gave her a ground-level understanding of how federal agencies function and what contractors need to deliver. She rose from area field manager to regional director overseeing seven southeastern states before eventually founding HX5.
That background informed her approach to building the company’s reputation. HX5 entered the 8 business development program and secured four contracts in its first year of participation. Rather than relying on that channel indefinitely, Howard steered the company toward open competition, believing that long-term viability required winning work on merit.
Margarita Howard takes particular pride in the team she has assembled at HX5. “We were very selective of people that we chose for our management team,” she has said. Many of her senior leaders have been with the company for ten years or more, providing the institutional knowledge and continuity that Howard views as central to HX5’s ability to perform. Visit this page for additional information.
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