Tom Lash Named President and CEO of Riverside Research

# New leader with federal market experience Riverside Research named Tom Lash as its new president and CEO on Sept. 10, 2026. Lash succeeds Steven Omick, who led the nonprofit for ten years. The organization described the appointment as part of its effort to advance strategic growth initiatives and strengthen relationships within the national security community.

# Who Tom Lash is Lash has nearly three decades of experience in the federal market and national security technology. His recent roles include serving as CEO of Vibrint, where he led acquisition strategies and expanded technology partnerships. He spent six years at Amazon Web Services building and leading the company's federal delivery organization and its national security account team. Earlier in his career he held leadership positions at SAIC and Leidos.

# Board rationale and Lash's stated priorities Jim Shields, chair of Riverside Research's board of trustees, said Lash's record leading complex national security organizations and advancing emerging technologies made him the right choice. Shields said Lash's strategic vision and mission-focused leadership will position the organization for continued growth while preserving its technical excellence and sponsor-focused culture.

Lash said he is honored to join Riverside Research and intends to accelerate growth, deepen sponsor partnerships, expand research and mission solutions, and advance research in AI/ML, sensing, and secure architectures.

# How this fits Riverside Research's recent trajectory The appointment comes amid a period of organizational expansion:

• A new office opened in the University of Illinois Research Park to strengthen academic partnerships and the talent pipeline.
• Partnerships include a rapid-prototyping collaboration with Plexus focused on secure, modular defense hardware and a technical partnership with Tera AI for GPS-denied mapping and positioning.
• Riverside Research acquired Cog Systems in 2025 to expand cybersecurity capabilities.
• The nonprofit earned a place on a potential $866 million multiple-award U.S. Air Force contract supporting the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.

Those moves indicate a mix of talent development, technical portfolio broadening, and targeted contract positioning — areas where Lash's background in federal accounts, national security delivery, and acquisition strategy aligns with the stated organizational goals.

# Immediate implications Expect leadership emphasis on sponsor relationships, growth in mission-focused research areas (AI/ML, sensing, secure architectures), and continued efforts to integrate recent acquisitions and partnerships with Riverside Research's technical base. Lash's AWS federal delivery experience and Vibrint CEO background suggest attention to scalable delivery models and commercialization of emerging capabilities within a nonprofit research context.

# What to watch next

• Systems cybersecurity capabilities into broader research programs.
• Deployment of the University of Illinois office to recruit and retain technical talent.
• Progress on the Air Force multiple-award contract and other sponsor-driven work.
• Any restructuring or new strategic partnerships that reflect Lash's prior emphasis on federal delivery and technology partnerships.