VPD Government Solutions has brought on longtime federal consulting and national security leader Bret Birkholz as its new CBP Portfolio Director, adding more than 25 years of strategy, delivery, and mission support experience to its growing team.
Birkholz announced the move on LinkedIn, marking another step in a career spent supporting some of the federal government’s most complex security and modernization efforts. His background includes extensive experience working with federal clients across the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD).
Before joining VPD, Birkholz served as a Business Development Executive for national security at Alpha Omega, where he led opportunity identification, market strategy, and client engagement across DHS. He previously spent three years as Vice President for the National Security Market at MetaPhase Consulting, overseeing delivery and business operations for a portfolio supporting CBP, TSA, ICE, CISA, FEMA, USMS, and other DHS and DoD components.
His earlier tenure as Senior Vice President of the Homeland Security Division at QinetiQ U.S. (formerly Avantus Federal) further solidified his national security credentials. There, he managed mission support and business development across a wide range of homeland security accounts, including the Coast Guard, S&T, FPS, and DHS headquarters.
Birkholz also brings a decade of hands-on experience supporting CBP directly through his work at Grant Thornton, where he led major decision analytics and business transformation projects. His work included biometric entry/exit planning, international traveler data analysis, preclearance expansion assessments, and border operations efficiency studies—expertise that aligns closely with VPD’s portfolio.
Earlier roles with Immersion Consulting and CACI (formerly AMS) centered on large-scale IT modernization, policy analysis, and system requirements development. Birkholz began his career as a U.S. Navy Supply Corps Officer, serving five and a half years of active duty as a commissioned lieutenant.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce (Finance) from the University of Virginia.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)