WT 360: The market from all angles

Latest Episodes:

Array's small business journey to the full-and-open world Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

Every company has its own journey and in this episode, Sumeet Shrivastava shares with Editor Nick Wakeman the path Array Information Technologies followed from when he joined as CEO in 2008 to its just-completed sale CGI Federal.

Shrivastava describes the risks Array took such as focusing their efforts on a smaller part of the business as they positioned themselves for future growth. After an initial contraction, the company doubled in size to 300 employees and shifted from 85 percent of its revenue in small business set-aside work to 90 percent from full-and-open contracts.

Then it came a time for Array to find a buyer. Shrivastava details that part of Array's journey and how they came to pick CGI Federal.

Every small business faces the inflection points that Array has faced, so this first-hand account offers lessons learned and plenty of advice as companies navigate today’s market. Shrivastava shares some of the important questions businesses should ask themselves as they move from one phase to the next.

M&A's critical role in driving innovation Sep 30, 2021

Show notes

Mergers, acquisitions and private equity are important engines for innovation in the defense market as retired Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle sees it.

For this episode of Project 38, the National Defense Industrial Association's CEO explains to our Nick Wakeman how the lure of a return on investment needs to be a consideration as the government regulates M&A activity.

Carlisle believes domestic investors should be attracted to fund young innovative companies, which after some development and nurturing are then sold to larger U.S. defense firms. That type of investment scenario thrives in the commercial world.

But today’s defense environment is still structured around a 1960s-era system for planning, programming, budgeting, and execution that Carlisle says needs to change.

Inside Peraton Labs' applied research focus Sep 23, 2021

Show notes

Peraton’s transformation into a $7 billion-annual revenue business by integrating three big pieces -- itself, Northrop Grumman’s IT services business and Perspecta -- includes an applied research organization that can claim lineage to Bell Labs.

In this episode of Project 38, Peraton Labs President Petros Mouchtaris speaks with our Ross Wilkers about the three-decade history of the team he leads and how fits within the parent company.

Getting a head start on the federal government’s hardest problems is a paramount focus for Peraton Labs and this conversation goes over three big areas: cybersecurity, 5G and networks, and everything under the umbrella of automation including artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Mouchtaris also explains how Peraton Labs works on this existential idea: figuring out how with a little customization and refactoring, federal agencies can use many of the same technologies that the commercial sectors do.

What's behind the furious pace of today's M&A activity Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

Merger-and-acquisition activity in the government market has maintained a stunning pace this year with transactions getting done fast and furious. Washington Technology Editor Nick Wakeman and Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers review some of the deals that stand out and what they say about trends driving today's market.

This includes a discussion about the different investment patterns by public companies such as Booz Allen Hamilton as well as large privately-backed players like Guidehouse, with plenty of smaller acquirers in between.

A full guide through this massive government contract restructuring Sep 07, 2021

Show notes

The final phase of one of the federal government’s largest contract restructurings is on the horizon, but the consolidation of GSA's Multiple Award Schedule will take time and effort.

So ahead of an upcoming key deadline in mid-September, this episode of Project 38 goes over everything companies need to know at this juncture of the schedule consolidation with the help of Global Services President and CEO Courtney Fairchild.

All 24 Multiple Award Schedule contracts are becoming one as the General Services Administration pushes to simplify the program so industry and government alike have fewer burdens.

But phase three of this effort is the most complex and is more than just an administrative action, as noted GSA Schedule watcher Fairchild points out in this conversation with our Ross Wilkers.

Fairchild and her company work with clients pursuing these very contracts, so Wilkers went over some of the most common questions she is asked about the consolidation, frequent misconceptions over what it means for companies and what it will portend for the future of government contracting.

Inside Huntington Ingalls' Alion integration & overall services strategy Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

Huntington Ingalls Industries just completed its largest-ever acquisition, the $1.65 billion deal for Alion Science & Technology, and is now at work integrating that big piece into the shipbuilder’s technical solutions segment.

This episode of Project 38 both functions as an update on that integration and a big-picture explanation of HII’s strategy for its technical solutions segment from its president Andy Green.

Much change and portfolio shaping has taken place since HII stood up the technical solutions segment in late 2016 to house its government services work, of which our Ross Wilkers has discussed with Green a few times since.

This latest conversation between Green and Wilkers includes a discussion on where HII looks to make sure its shipbuilding and solutions sides contribute to what the other is doing and the company at-large, plus some of the technical challenges they work on together and particularly in the emerging unmanned maritime domain.

What's driving today's hot M&A market? Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

The market has rarely seen the level of merger-and-acquisition activity that we see today with a plethora of large and small buyers.

To breakdown what’s driving the deals, Editor Nick Wakeman spoke with Bob Kipps of the investment bank KippsDeSanto.

Kipps shares his views on why the market has been so good to buyers and sellers as well as the critical role being played by private equity firms, who drive nearly half of the transactions.

The expectation is that the pace of mergers and acquisitions will continue and Kipps explains why.

More code than papers: how Noblis found itself making that shift Aug 13, 2021

Show notes

Noblis has found itself writing more code than papers these days amid the nonprofit organization’s continued push to be at the nexus of science and technology for federal agencies.

This episode of Project 38 takes you inside that multiple-year reinvention and how that plays out today as our Ross Wilkers pays a visit to Noblis CEO Amr ElSawy and Mile Corrigan, senior vice president of federal civilian solutions.

In finding that imbalance between code and papers, Noblis is also making an initial foray into the world of solutions and products with launch number one focusing on cybersecurity: which in the past year has found itself top of mind for many agencies again given the many high-profile breaches.

A second part of Noblis’ journey means integrating the acquisition of McKean Defense and that business now helps form the backbone of a new organization to serve defense clients. ElSawy and Corrigan provide an update on that integration and how Noblis is looking to spread the people and resources of McKean across the entire enterprise.

Inside AT&T's three main public sector pillars Aug 06, 2021

Show notes

Even amid big changes above it, AT&T's public sector and public safety businesses have the same main three pillars for long-term growth and a mandate to bring the company's commercial offerings into the government space.

Get the inside view here in this second part of our Ross Wilkers' interview with two AT&T executives in charge of both aspects of that strategy -- Jason Porter, president of public sector and FirstNet; and Jill Singer, vice president of defense and national security.

AT&T counts the governmentwide EIS network modernization contract and FirstNet national public safety network as two franchise programs for agencies, while the 5G revolution has implications for every individual and institutions.

Porter and Singer explain how AT&T looks for synergy and applicability across its consumer and public sector businesses, plus offer updates on both the EIS and FirstNet initiatives.

AT&T's return to its core and the public sector Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

What does AT&T’s broad strategic reset to focus on technology and connectivity mean for its public sector and public safety businesses?

Part one of Project 38 gets some answers to that question from two AT&T executives responsible for carrying out that vision in the government market -- Jason Porter, president of public sector and FirstNet; and Jill Singer, vice president of defense and national security.

Two particular threads help illustrate AT&T’s re-casted vision: the sales of the media businesses (which we did not go over) and divestiture of the defense IT professional services business (which we went over in detail).

Porter and Singer explain to our Senior Staff Writer Ross Wilkers how they see AT&T’s return to its connectivity core as making more room to invest in the public sector and FirstNet public safety network businesses. They also lift the curtain on AT&T’s vision for the post-pandemic future of work.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

WT 360: The market from all angles

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected