Ahmed R. Ali is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, philanthropist, United States Navy veteran, and successful businessman. Ahmed is the Founder and President of TISTA Science and Technology Corporation, a company he founded in 2005. Ahmed started his career working for various firms in the D.C. Metro area while studying Engineering in college. With a passion to serve our nation in the Armed Forces, Ahmed joined the United States Navy. Upon completion of his military service, Ahmed received his B.S. in Information Systems Management from UMGC, an M.S. in Cybersecurity from Capital Technology University, and also holds an MBA with a concentration in International Business. Ahmed has also completed further executive education level programs at Harvard University, Georgetown University, and Dartmouth College.
Ahmed brings with him over 25 years of Military, Federal Government, and Civilian experience in Engineering, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Project Management. As a United States Navy Veteran, Ahmed understands the mission critical requirements of the Department of Defense and the Intelligence community. While serving, Ahmed worked on various aspects of Engineering, Fire Control Radar, Weapons Systems, Electronic Warfare, Communications, and Information Technology. Ahmed served onboard an Arleigh Burke class Guided Missile Destroyer, and completed several deployments throughout the world in support of various military operations.
Ahmed has held senior level positives in IT and Engineering in support of the Department of Defense (DoD); Department of Justice (DoJ); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Security Agency (NSA); Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) at Indian Head; Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA); Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He also worked as a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office, in the field of computer security and cryptography. Throughout his military and civilian career, Ahmed has received many commendations and awards in the fields of Information Technology and Engineering including the US Navy’s Sailor of the Year of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON 31) out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
TISTA has been recognized as an Inc. 500/5000 company for the past several years, and was recognized by the Washington Technology FAST 50 as one of the fastest growing small businesses in government contracting. Ahmed was also selected as the 2016 Small Business Administration (SBA) Person of the Year for the State of Maryland. Among many awards, TISTA has also been recognized by the Washington Business Journal in ranking #4 of the Largest Veteran Owned Companies, and one of the Largest Private Companies in the DC Metro Region. TISTA currently employees over 800 full-time employees and does over $200M in annual revenue.
Ahmed is also passionate about giving back to the community and helping various women and children’s causes. Ahmed recently built his second orphanage in Rangpur Bangladesh, which is in a small town next to the TISTA River. This orphanage continues to house and provide an education close to 100 children. Ahmed is planning a third orphanage dedicated to young girls. He serves as Honorary Chair for Pillars4Dignity and believes in the mission to provide dignity and empowerment to women through education and life skills training.
