About Sylvester Cotton

Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer

As Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of The One 23 Group, Sylvester “Sly” Cotton owns the company’s growth strategy, pipeline, and capture efforts. He leads business development, bidding, marketing, and innovation to drive revenue expansion. Sly develops winning strategies and builds market presence to position the company for long-term success in a competitive federal landscape.

Sly plays a key leadership role in identifying new market opportunities and building strategic relationships that align with the company’s mission and service capabilities. By integrating business development with delivery readiness, he ensures that growth initiatives are not only forward-leaning but also executable. His focus on measurable, scalable, and impactful outcomes supports the company’s commitment to high-quality performance and client satisfaction.

In addition to driving external growth, Sly strengthens internal capability by fostering a culture of excellence and innovation. His leadership enhances The One 23 Group’s positioning across national security, law enforcement and defense agencies and ensures alignment between strategic priorities and operational execution.

Sly is a seasoned leader with over 30 years of leading and managing large, diverse DoD and Army Cyber organizations. As a career Army officer and combat veteran, he held several key command and staff positions, culminating with leading the transition of Fort Eisenhower’s Signal Center of Excellence to become the Cyber Center of Excellence.

Prior to joining The One 23 Group, Sly served as the Vice President, Growth and Strategy for Jacobs Technology. He was responsible for managing and growing his sector’s $1B pipeline of opportunities. His portfolio consisted primarily of Cyber and Intelligence globally and supported the DoD, all Federal Agencies, and the Federal Civilian markets. Sly held executive-level positions at Unisys, Engility/SAIC, and Calibre Systems.

Sly holds a Doctorate of Management in Information Systems and Technology, a Master of Arts degrees in Information Systems Management, a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He is also a credentialed Project Management Professional (PMP) and a certified ITIL Service Manager.