Leadership

Founder and Chief Executive

Richard Hollis Helms

Founder and Chief Executive

Richard Hollis Helms

Biography


Richard Helms is the founder and Chief Executive of Ntrepid Corporation. After a nearly 30-year career in the Central Intelligence Agency, he founded Abraxas Corporation. It was sold 10 years later but retained 145 engineers and product development lines going back years. Ntrepid Corporation was then formed to solve extremely difficult product challenges. Those product lines are now known as Ion, Passages, Nfusion, and Timestream, … and MetalGear. Just kidding. We have never had a MetalGear product, and suggestions that we have are the result of a misreading and an inaccurate description of contracted work.

In Nov. 2006, Richard won Ernst & Young’s National Entrepreneur of the Year award in Emerging Technology. A graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., he holds a master’s degree in national security policy and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and economic development policy. An avid aviator, Richard has built two experimental aircraft.

From the Founder


“In my career, I was never satisfied that those responsible for delivering technology to me really understood my need, for surely if they had, they would have worked harder to deliver what seemed to me to be the obvious. I remember being told, ‘If you don’t see it on the shelf, don’t ask for it.

That guidance resulted in an erroneous assessment that all needs were being met because no one was asking for anything other than what was on the shelf. Soon, nothing worthwhile was on the shelf. But while the first principal of technology development must be that it is essential to have the right people, the second is insuring institutional things do not prevent the right technologists from achieving their goals. I am fortunate in that many of those things that prevented technology from reaching me no longer apply. Ntrepid benefits from over $91 million in investments in new technology, people and insights. No one is telling us to live with what is on the shelf. Unfortunately, now I have few excuses for not delivering technology that can make a difference.”

President

Charlie Englehart

Senior VP of Engineering

Justin Gideon

VP of Finance & Operations Management

Sharon Shepherd

VP of Governance, Risk, and Compliance

Roger Carroll

VP of Growth

Ramzi Asmar

VP of Customer Operations and Support

Lili Babic

President

Charlie Englehart

“I have the privilege of working with some of the most talented individuals and unique customers one could experience professionally. The Internet has never had more relevance to our customers or provided them with such opportunity in the marketplace. We are presented with new challenges daily. That is what attracts the people that are here and makes this the most distinct company with which I have ever worked.”

Biography


Prior to joining Ntrepid, Charlie worked in support of the Department of Defense and other clients in the national security community. Charlie brings 16 years of experience managing complex technical projects within federal and commercial spaces. Charlie holds a master’s degree with distinction from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA.

Senior VP of Engineering

Justin Gideon

“As an engineer, I have always been passionate about building the right tool for the job. Our customers each face a unique set of challenges, and I have the privilege of ensuring these challenges are met. The Engineering team is tasked with understanding the customer’s evolving mission, building impactful solutions, and managing mission-critical production environments across the organization. We are a customer-oriented engineering team driven by complex problems and creative thinking. I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by a team of talented individuals committed to success and excellence in their work.”

Biography


Justin began his career developing command/control software for C4ISR real-time embedded systems. Since then, he has been involved in several software engineering teams ranging from mobile application development to Enterprise Java solutions. He has been supporting the DoD and national security community since 2003 in many different facets. After joining Ntrepid in 2013, Justin was involved in multiple engineering efforts within Special Programs and Product Engineering. His focus has been in software development, but he quickly developed a passion for routing, firewalls, and general network solutions; and he can no longer imagine a world without tcpdump. Justin is a firm believer that virtually everything can be automated and driven by an API. As VP of Engineering, Justin enjoys working with engineering teams to solve complex problems and building a rapport with customers.

Justin received his B.S. in Computer Science from Penn State University. He is a backyard barbecue fanatic and is always looking for something new to throw on the smoker. At home, Justin aspires to one day join the management team, but for now is happy reporting to his four amazing kids and incredible wife.

VP of Finance & Operations Management

Sharon Shepherd

“Early in my work career I had been exposed to numbers and the importance of how they are all interrelated, how to interpret them and how to get the correct financial picture. I found the possibilities of a career in finance and accounting limitless and sought to help others with the confusing world of ‘bean counting.’ 

As the VP of Finance and Operations Management, I not only report on the financial health of Ntrepid, but also have an active role as part of the Senior Management Team in the forecast of where Ntrepid is headed and what the finance/accounting team can do to support the Ntrepid business initiatives. Together as a team, we can accomplish great things! I am very fortunate to be part of such an outstanding leadership group.” 

Biography


Sharon Shepherd joined Abraxas in 2005 as the Corporate Controller and was an integral part of the sale of Abraxas and the start-up of Ntrepid. Sharon has over 15 years of experience in corporate accounting and finance. Her vast experience and skills serve as a basis to oversee the critical interface of finance and the financial implications of business decisions through her detailed budgets, forecasts and other financial tools available to her. 

Sharon has put together an excellent support team to get more done with less. The accounting team is small in number, but large in accomplishments and efficiency. 

Sharon is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Virginia and a graduate of George Mason University with a B.S. in decision sciences. She also has an extensive background in accounting information systems, including Deltek Costpoint, ADP, Planning Maestro, and Shareworks.

Sharon is the mother to three amazing young ladies whose individual activities in athletics, scholastics and volunteer work have honed Sharon’s coordination and logistic skills. 

VP of Governance, Risk, and Compliance

Roger Carroll

“I have the privilege of leading the Governance, Risk and Compliance organization which oversees Ntrepid’s cyber and industrial security, as well as all contractual and regulatory compliance activities that we engage as a solution provider to the U.S. government. It’s an exceptionally talented team and a rewarding space to work in because it intersects customer programs, engineering operations, and the cleared portion of our workforce.”

Biography


Roger serves as Vice President of Governance, Risk and Compliance, which encompasses Ntrepid’s contracting, institutional and cyber security teams. Previously, he led Ntrepid’s consulting and services business as Vice President of Special Programs, following earlier roles as Director and Program Manager for activities spanning national security customer programs and internal research and development. Roger has been with Ntrepid since its 2010 founding, having joined its predecessor, Abraxas, in 2006 where he supported national security programs. His earliest posts were in research and analytic positions spanning investment intelligence and public relations.

Roger holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Bryan College. At home, Roger is outnumbered with three lovely daughters and an amazing wife; he rarely finishes a sentence.


VP of Growth

Ramzi Asmar

“I feel very fortunate to be part of a team that defies the laws of networking and virtualization to deliver solutions that protect our customers from data breaches and cyber attacks. It is the opportunity of a lifetime to be part of a company that designs and implements some of the most advanced cyber security products available.“ 

Biography


Ramzi Asmar has been with Ntrepid since its very first year of inception and started out as an analyst on Roger Carroll’s team. Ramzi has worked in support of Ntrepid’s largest clients, implementing creative technologies on-site and ensuring they maintained a secure cyber security posture. In 2015, Ramzi was asked to lead the business development team; driving Ntrepid’s growth in both the private and public sector. 

Ramzi is trilingual, native in Arabic & French. He holds a master’s degree with honors from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public & International Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in biology from West Virginia University. Ramzi is a geek at heart, loves animals, and will happily talk to you about watches, cycling, and the latest technology trends. 

VP of Customer Operations and Support

Lili Babic

“Ntrepid is dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions to hard problems for our customers, allowing us to build great products and offer unique services. Being in Customer Operations and Support, I have the opportunity not only to work with our customers directly, but also the chance to work with the talented folks in Customer Operations and Support and every other group at Ntrepid. It’s this talent combined with collective commitment, dedication, and passion for our customers and their successes that make Ntrepid a great place to work and a leader in the space.” 

Biography


As VP for Customer Operations and Support, Lili oversees both the Production Operations and Production Support groups at Ntrepid. Together, the groups serve as the central point for the successful deployment and ongoing O&M of Ntrepid’s products, allowing for 24/7/365 support of customers’ missions and a continuity of their online operations. Having joined Ntrepid in 2011, Lili has held a number of positions within the company over the years, most recently as the Senior Director for Special Programs, helping to support the deployment and ongoing support of Ntrepid’s products and custom service offerings. While working in Special Programs, Lili gained extensive experience working with Customers, understanding use cases and requirements, and providing quality support for multiple projects, programs, and Ntrepid product deployments.   

Lili has a master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies from Bradley University in Illinois. A true Wisconsinite at heart, Lili has a deep love for the Green Bay Packers, and in her free time, loves to travel and go hiking and skiing in the Colorado mountains. 

Have What It Takes?

If you’re looking to shape the future of national security tech, we’re looking for you.

Ntrepid is always interested in acquiring talented and qualified individuals to fill these vital roles:

  • Software Tech Lead
  • Senior Software Engineer
  • Senior Network Engineer
  • ProdOps System Engineer
  • Front End Engineer
  • Senior DevOps Engineer