AFCEAN of the Month, July 2026
Hank Costa is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, retired government civilian and career information technology (IT) professional with more than 40 years of experience spanning telecommunications, information management and enterprise IT leadership. His career reflects sustained service across uniformed operations, industry innovation and senior government leadership in support of national defense.
As an enterprise service and strategy planner within the Deputy Commandant for Information, IC4 Division, Costa led information technology service management efforts for the Marine Corps Information Environment Enterprise. In this role, he was responsible for aligning enterprise IT services with both business and warfighting requirements, ensuring governance, modernization and service delivery supported operational readiness and mission success across the Marine Corps.
Costa’s academic accomplishments underscore his commitment to lifelong learning and strategic leadership. He holds an engineering degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in information technology strategic leadership from the College of Information and Cyberspace at the National Defense University, a juris doctor from the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland and a doctorate in cybersecurity from the College of Business, Innovation, Leadership and Technology at Marymount University. He is currently the dissertation chair at Capitol Technology University leading several research papers on cybersecurity topics.
A member of the AFCEA Cyber Committee since 2017, Costa has contributed extensively through thought leadership and collaboration. He has authored articles on systematic information management in the Marine Corps Gazette and co-led the AFCEA National Innovation Strategy (NIS) white paper with Jim Craft. He has also participated in numerous AFCEA panel discussions and presentations focused on innovation, digital transformation and operations management within the Department of Defense Information Network and effective technology insertion.
Costa recently transferred his AFCEA membership to the AFCEA Rockbridge Shenandoah Chapter. He has already supported a chapter event at Virginia Tech, where he moderated a discussion panel centered on AFCEA’s NIS white paper, impacts on education and workforce development, drones and robotics research and development, and artificial intelligence innovation. Recently, Costa joined the chapter’s board of directors as the committee chair, working on a new initiative to develop a virtual education exchange with European high school students.
With more than 20 years of experience in government portfolio management, acquisition and operations management, Costa has worked closely with industry partners, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Defense Information Systems Agency and other federal agencies. His career reflects a consistent commitment to strengthening enterprise services and delivering a lasting competitive advantage in the information environment for the world’s finest fighting force. Costa’s efforts have contributed to the growth and success of the chapter and AFCEA at an international level.
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