Nicolete Veno

Nicolete Veno serves as a key procurement professional within the U.S. Coast Guard’s Headquarters Contract Operations (CG-912), where she supports the strategic acquisition of specialized maritime and aerospace services critical to national security and operational readiness. She manages the full lifecycle of contracts for vessel construction, modernization, and technical support services, ensuring alignment with the Coast Guard’s mission to enhance coastal patrol capabilities, sustain specialized fleets, and advance maritime domain awareness systems. Her work directly enables the agency’s force modernization priorities through compliant, mission-driven contracting practices. Veno maintains long-standing partnerships with leading shipyards and maritime specialty contractors, including Bollinger Shipyards Lockport, L.L.C., Davie Defense Inc., Rauma Marine Constructions Oy, and Rozema’s Boat Works, Inc. These relationships reflect a focus on experienced, niche vendors capable of delivering custom-built vessels and high-integrity marine systems. Her contracting approach emphasizes collaboration with vendors possessing deep technical expertise in naval architecture, propulsion integration, and survivability enhancements, fostering reliable, performance-based delivery models. She demonstrates an unwavering commitment to small business participation, with 100% of her acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. This consistent preference ensures that small, agile contractors—particularly those with specialized shipbuilding or maritime support capabilities—have equitable access to Coast Guard opportunities, reinforcing the agency’s socioeconomic goals and workforce development priorities. Her procurement portfolio is exclusively focused on NAICS 238990 (All Other Specialty Trade Contractors), reflecting a narrow but critical specialization in non-standard, mission-critical maritime construction and retrofit services. She procures turnkey solutions for patrol craft, response vessels, and specialized platform upgrades, requiring deep domain knowledge in naval systems integration, corrosion-resistant materials, and Coast Guard-specific operational requirements. Her expertise lies in translating complex maritime needs into technically sound, compliant acquisition strategies.