Stella Mercado is a successful entrepreneur who has founded and sold several businesses in the mid-Atlantic region.  One of several companies she founded was Mercom Corporation in 2000, which was headquartered in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.  Ms. Mercado served as its CEO and President of the Board of the Directors building the company to over $150 Million in revenue, Ms. Mercado had overall responsibility for finance, corporate revenue, investments, and tax policy, as well as leading primarily federal government and contracts, sales, and strategic planning.  Mercom Corporation, was an award winning technology firm specializing in providing innovative solutions to federal clients with contracting and acquisition velocity to execute and support mission critical and classified operations for clients within Defense, Intelligence, Healthcare, and Civilian markets.   In 2022, she successfully exited the company to spend time with her young family.   

Stella Mercado resides in the Litchfield area of Georgetown County South Carolina with her husband Mark and two sons.  Recruited to play Division 1 Softball, Ms. Mercado received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and later completed The Executive Program (TEP) at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business in 2014.   She has served on the following Boards as a Director or Trustee:  Charleston Defense Contractors Association, (CDCA), Grand Strand Technology Business Council (GSTBC), Coastal Carolina University Wall College, Teach My People, Coastal Montessori Charter School, and was appointed by Governor McMaster to serve on the South Carolina Regional Authority (SCRA). She has been a member of Industry Associations such as Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), Building Industry Consulting Services International (BICSI), and Intelligence National Security Alliance (INSA) and has won numerous awards in her field with her successful businesses. 

While transitioning her businesses in 2022, Ms. Mercado filed and won her first elected office and is now serving Georgetown County’s District 6 as a Council member.  She mentors entrepreneurs, volunteers, is dedicated to raising her sons and stays active playing competitive tennis.

Edward Tkacz was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tkacz Engineering, LLC (now Deploy360), a leading Department of Defense (DoD) small business solutions provider with over a decade of operational excellence in supporting U.S. military and allied operations worldwide. During his 12 year tenure as CEO (2011-2023), Edward led all activities in management, growth, operations, and marketing for the company leading to a successful acquisition that has further expanded its capabilities and global reach. Under his leadership, Deploy360 has provided mission-critical technology services, logistics, and consulting services across multiple countries, delivering innovation in support of defense and security initiatives. From 2011 to 2019, Deploy360 supported multiple contracts in Afghanistan with United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A), United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (CSTC-A). These projects ranged from managing and building web-based applications to include the Armed Civilian Web-enabled Accountability and Reporting System (ACWARS) for the Armed Contractor Oversight Directorate (ACOD) to supporting the development of the Afghan Personnel and Pay System (APPS) for both the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan.  Other significant projects led by Deploy360 include Prime contract task orders supporting Navy and Marine Corps agencies with Cybersecurity Services, Application Modernization, and Geographical Information System (GIS) support.  Deploy360 provided these services in Japan (Commander Sub Group-7), Bahrain (Fleet Logistics Center Bahrain), and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (Marine Corps Installation-East). Deploy360 has also supported Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) providing niche services such as Technical Exploitation (TECHEX), Document and Media Exploitation (DOMEX), and reverse software engineering.

Edward’s career reflects an unwavering commitment to national security and operational efficiency, marked by deep expertise in mission-focused project execution, cross-cultural team leadership, and agile response to dynamic military requirements.  He spent 10 years living overseas supporting dynamic military operations in Germany (USEUCOM, USAREUR, and USAFE), Iraq (Multi-National Corps-Iraq, Multi-National Forces-Iraq), Afghanistan (CSTC-A, USFOR-A), Qatar (USAFCENT and USFOR-A), and England (NATO). He also traveled to both Israel and Japan to support smaller tasks. He has established strategic partnerships with the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), working with both large and small companies, the U.S. Government Agencies in deployed arenas, and Allied Nations, fostering collaboration on projects that enhance mission readiness and support rapid deployment in complex environments.

As an advocate for cutting-edge solutions and responsible modernization, Edward has championed initiatives to integrate advanced technologies, streamline contract management, and uphold stringent compliance standards within the defense sector. With a track record of proven results in high-stakes settings, Edward continues to support the Department of Defense mission to deliver trusted, adaptable solutions for the most challenging defense operations in the most austere environments.

Edward received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in 2001 from Coastal Carolina University and began working in the Defense Industry in 2002 as a Software Engineer supporting NAVAIR 3.6 at Pax River Naval Air Station in Maryland. From 2005 to 2015 he traveled the globe supporting various DoD customers and their amazing missions. He now resides in the Metropolitan Area of Charleston, SC.

Michael McGowan is a forward-thinking technology leader with over two decades of experience in the IT industry. Throughout his career, Michael has demonstrated an exceptional ability to align technology strategies with business objectives, driving innovation and efficiency across various organizations. As the Managing Director and Global Head of Infrastructure Engineering at TIAA, he led eight global teams, implemented critical enterprise solutions, and played a pivotal role in a significant technology merger, resulting in substantial cost savings and enhanced cybersecurity resilience​.

During his tenure at TIAA, Michael held several leadership roles, including Senior Lead Engineering Manager where Michael and his team designed and built the Carnegie Compute Cloud (C3), a self-service hybrid cloud, that drastically reduced provisioning times and operational costs for the firm. C3 became the standard for managing and provisioning infrastructure servers at the Fortune 100 firm. Following that, he spearheaded the creation of C3 Shipyard, a containerization platform hosting over 100k containers that simplified application delivery times from hours and minutes down to seconds across both public and private cloud.

Michael’s strategic initiatives in cloud engineering and infrastructure management have consistently resulted in major technology uplifts, while simultaneously providing significant cost reductions and improved operational efficiency. Michael’s expertise spans across cloud architecture, containerization, and enterprise solution delivery​.

His technical prowess is complemented by his strong leadership and communication skills. His passion for building and leading high performing teams fosters a culture of collaboration and cultivates strategic partnerships with key stakeholders.

His dedication to professional development is evident through his numerous industry certifications, including AWS Certified Solution Architect and Red Hat Certified Engineer.

Michael has also been recognized for his contributions to the field with several awards and speaking engagements at prominent conferences, highlighting his influence and thought leadership in the technology sector​.