Now in its 36th year, ColoradoBiz magazine’s Top Company Awards program recognizes businesses and organizations based in Colorado or with a significant presence in the state that are leading the way in their fields, as demonstrated by financial performance, notable company achievements and community engagement.

To be considered, Top Company entrants submitted applications throughout the year online at ColoradoBiz.com. From those entries, which numbered in the hundreds, the magazine’s editorial board narrowed the field to three finalists (in most cases) in each industry category. A judging panel made up of area business leaders and ColoradoBiz staff then met to compare notes on the finalists and decide winners in 14 industries plus the Startup category, for companies in business four years or less.

Congratulations are in order not only to the 41 winners and finalists profiled on the following pages, but to all the companies that took the time to tell us about their achievements and obstacles surmounted over the past year that make them worthy of Top Company consideration.

WINNER — Caliola Engineering

CEO Jennifer Halford spent 17 years with The Aerospace Corp. before founding Caliola Engineering in 2019 with her husband, Chief Scientist Tom Halford.

The startup was a departure of sorts: Instead of taking over the family business, as her father told her was her professional destiny when she was in eighth grade, Jennifer decided to blaze her own trail with Caliola.

The 50-employee, woman-owned company now provides technical solutions and services for secure and resilient communications. The team has expertise in nuclear command, control and communication (NC3); military satellite communications; modernized high-frequency communications; non-traditional cybersecurity architectures; and other areas.

The business has gained serious traction in its first four years. As the company closed on nearly $30 million in funding since it launched, Caliola’s revenue skyrocketed by more than 200 percent from 2021 to 2022.

Jennifer attributes the growth to ever-improving technical solutions and a growing network, crediting the company’s employees. “We believe that our bleeding-edge innovative technologies and our people are our number-one competitive advantage and tangible differentiation amongst many other aerospace companies,” she says. “We plan to continue to cultivate our current network, while also branching out into adjacent markets that have a need for low-cost reliable secure communications. This growth will require even more new hires.”

When it comes to culture, Caliola emphasizes work-life balance, employee education and giving back to the local community. “We value innovation and actively seek the professional and personal growth of all of our employees, encouraging them to be lifelong learners,” Jennifer says. “We seek the hardest problems to solve for our customers and trust our employees to find creative ways to solve them.”