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.

Tom Hefty
President (FLTCM, USN, Ret.)

Tom Hefty, Fleet Master Chief (Retired), leads and supervises all Herdt Consulting service delivery and support functions as President. Tom served in the U.S. Navy for more than 26 years, including 8 years of flag-level executive service. He held various positions of command leadership to include tours as Chief of the Boat, Command Master Chief and CINCLANTFLT Fleet Master Chief. After retiring in 2002, Tom joined Herdt Consulting. Under his leadership, our customer-focused solution teams are resourced and supported to perform their tasks at the highest level. Tom is personally involved in quality control of deliverables, project status reviews, and contract compliance.

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

Pete Thielen is Herdt’s Senior Vice President responsible for Technical Solution Architecture and Business 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
Vice President Operations

Eric Miller is responsible for all aspects of day-to-day 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 available 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 then worked for the Navy Exchange as General Manager in Patuxent River, MD. He next served as Project Manager on several business process improvement efforts spanning DoD, Federal civilian, and commercial sector projects. Jim leads projects for civilian agencies. He is managing 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 Support 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 National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and 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.

Donald Barrett
Executive Director, Program Manager

Don Barrett leads Herdt Material and Asset Management and Logistics Services offerings. After serving as a senior enlisted leader in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, Don held leadership and senior consulting positions in both the Federal Civil Service and the private sector. He is a recognized expert in human performance improvement, process improvement, team building, change management, organizational development, mentorship, human resources management, and coaching. Don is a certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)®. He leads Herdt support to several Systems Commands in their sustainment and migration of business processes to the Navy ERP solution and the provision of ERP-based logistics services to Navy and Marine Corps organizations.

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

Laura Stanton leads Herdt Consulting technical solution prototypes and deployments supporting major Navy and US Fleet Forces Command modernization programs. 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. As a Logistics Officer, she held command and staff positions for Air Force and Joint-service major commands. Since 2008, Laura provided Business Development and Capture support to several companies. She currently leads Herdt support to multiple Navy programs, developing and deploying enterprise solutions in Maintenance, Logistics, Finance, Project Scheduling, Strategic Force Planning, and Business Intelligence.

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 28 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.