James James “Jim” Herdt
CEO (MCPON, USN, Ret.).

James “Jim” Herdt, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (Retired), founded and leads Herdt Consulting, Inc. as CEO. He served four years as the most senior enlisted member of the United States Navy. As such, his responsibilities included leading program and policy development for an enlisted force of over 400,000 personnel. Additionally, he served as a personal advisor on all U.S. Navy personnel policies to the Chief of Naval Operations, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of Defense, and the U.S. Congress. After 35 years of active naval service, Jim founded Herdt Consulting in 2002 to provide leadership development, and technical and engineering support services. While providing financial management, strategic vision, and ongoing direction to company leaders, Jim is committed to ensuring every customer is fully satisfied with the services and solutions they receive. He volunteers his time on numerous boards and activities, including seats on the Secretary of the Navy’s Council on Retiree Affairs and the Navy Memorial Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Jerry Short
President

With over 34 years of experience in resolving complex problems and driving strategy and innovation in financial management, operations, and technology within the government sector, Short brings a wealth of Navy expertise to Herdt. Short’s accomplishments include serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, where he successfully led the consolidation of four Commands off legacy finance systems to Navy ERP. This transformational initiative resulted in a cost savings amounting to $900 million. Additionally, Short served as Comptroller, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) where he led all strategic budgeting, accounting, audit, and financial management for over $40 billion in defense acquisition funds annually. During his tenure at NAVAIR, he also served as the acting Deputy Commander and Executive Director.

Pete Thielen
Senior Vice President Strategy and Business Development (CMDCM, USN, Ret.)

Pete Thielen is responsible for Herdt’s Technical Solution Architecture and Strategy. With over 26 years in the U.S. Navy, Pete served at submarine and surface commands, including in Logistics, Naval Reactors Logistics, and three Command Master Chief tours. Since 2000, Pete has supported the development and implementation of Public Sector Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions. He served as a Logistics, Project Systems, and Financial Accounting Specialist for the U.S. Navy ERP Program. Pete has successfully architected critical Navy enterprise solutions in Maintenance, Logistics, Finance, Project Scheduling, Strategic Force Planning, and Business Intelligence. Pete is a Certified SAP® Application Consultant – Accounting (FI) and his thorough understanding of all aspects of current and emerging technology projects benefits customers’ systems sustainment and modernization efforts.

Eric Miller
Senior Vice President

Eric Miller is responsible for all aspects of day-to-day Herdt company operations, administration, and partner relations. He is a U.S. Navy veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors. After his transition from the Navy, Eric spent five years as a project director and contracts manager. He currently directs Herdt’s support to multiple Navy and Army ERP programs. Eric also leads the development and support of Herdt’s extensive technology and services partner network. This proven network ensures we can provide customers with the most appropriate and cost-effective solutions to support their mission requirements.

Jim Herdt II
Vice President

Jim Herdt manages business operations and serves as Herdt Consulting’s Facility Security Officer (FSO)/Cyber Security Lead. Jim spent 17 years with Sears in both corporate and field-level management assignments. He managed Sears’ logistics and inventory control across multiple lines of merchandise for 700 retail outlets, led marketing systems development initiatives, and served as District Manager and as a Store General Manager. Jim worked for the Navy Exchange as General Manager in Patuxent River, MD. He then served as Project Manager on business process improvement efforts spanning DoD, Federal civilian, and commercial sector projects. Jim currently leads projects for civilian agencies. He manages Herdt compliance with the latest Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program cybersecurity standards.

Kevin Fitzpatrick
Executive Director, Program Manager

Kevin Fitzpatrick leads Herdt Supply Chain Management and ERP Training Services offerings. He held positions of increasingly complex Navy NAVSUP and Defense supply chain management and logistics for over 31 years. Selected as a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 1999, Kevin is a recognized leader in business process transformational change. He developed best business practices to significantly reduce cost and improve customer service and successfully implemented two ERP solutions while working for the Navy. Kevin served as the Executive Director of the Department of the Navy’s Office of Special Projects, a second echelon command reporting to the Commander, NAVSUP. He also served as the Director of the Navy Engineering Logistics Office. Kevin is a member of the DoD Acquisition Professional Community. He leads Herdt support to several Navy program offices across multiple Systems Commands and is a special consultant to Navy ERP modernization and support initiatives.

Laura Stanton
Executive Director/Program Manager (Lt Col, USAF, Ret.)

Laura Stanton leads Herdt Consulting support to multiple Navy programs, developing and deploying enterprise solutions in Maintenance, Logistics, Finance, Project Scheduling, Strategic Force Planning, and Business Intelligence. During 23 years of US Air Force active duty, Laura served in a variety of career fields to include executive support, command and control, and logistics. She currently assembles, coordinates, and manages several multi-disciplinary technical teams supporting NAVSEA. Laura provides on-site and remote software integration through facilitation, coordination, and troubleshooting associated with the deployment of complex software applications.

Greg Robinette, PMP
Director of ERP Services

Greg Robinette leads Herdt Consulting ERP Services. He is a highly skilled SAP systems architect with extensive practical experience and a wealth of ERP knowledge and expertise. After five years of service in the US Navy, Greg has held various roles, including consultant, project manager, and director of ERP solutions. He was the SAP/SharePoint Product Owner, where he managed the Framework Services Product Team. He excelled in designing and deploying SAP landscapes while adhering to IT, cybersecurity, and DevOps policies. Greg orchestrated collaborative work across IT and shipbuilding systems, employing AGILE collaboration processes and the KANBAN model for efficient value delivery. As an Enterprise Architect at Huntington Ingalls – Newport News Shipbuilding, Greg worked on advanced and complex technical projects, demonstrating state-of-the-art technical knowledge. He established system information requirements for enterprise-wide information systems. Greg designed architecture to support software, hardware, and communication requirements and supervised staff on a daily basis. He has worked extensively with SAP products and is a certified information security manager (CISM) by ISACA, a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute, an AGILE certified practitioner (PMI-ACP) by the Project Management Institute. He was formerly certified as a Scrum Master (CSM) by the SCRUM Alliance, as an AWS Certified Solution Architect Associate, and as an SAP HR/HCM consultant by SAP. Greg stays updated on industry trends and new technologies relevant to system architecture and has shared his expertise at conferences such as America’s SAP User Group (ASUG), WISPUBS SAP Insider SAPHR, and Sarbanes Oxley. He has authored multiple articles in SAP HR Expert and SAP TIPS magazines.

Eric Schwarz, CF APMP
Capture/Proposal Director

Eric Schwarz supports Herdt business capture and proposal efforts for prime and subcontractor opportunities with federal and commercial customers. After active-duty service in Army command and staff positions, Eric has spent over 30 years in business development (BD), capture, and proposal management roles. He serves on the Executive Board of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals’ National Capital Area chapter (2008 – present). Eric works with Herdt and partner BD professionals, executives, architects, PMs, and SMEs to develop and present technical solutions that support customer mission requirements. He prepares corporate messaging and communication materials. Eric identifies and supports Herdt partner relationships and teaming strategies.