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Posts Tagged ‘Lion’s Den’

Fleshman, Torres Assume Leadership of GTSC Lion’s Den

BETH FLESHMAN, ALION AND GUY TORRES, SALIENT, ASSUME LEADERSHIP OF THE GTSC LION’S DEN

Industry leaders will continue to focus on growth for midtier government contractors

Washington, D.C. June 4 — The Government Technology & Services Coalition today announced that Beth Fleshman, Assistant Vice President, Alion Science & Technology ascended to Chair of the Lion’s Den, a group of GTSC members focused on midtier company growth in the federal market. Guy Torres, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Salient Federal Solutions and formerly director of IT contracting for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, joined as Vice-Chair.

“I am excited to lead this distinguished group,” said Fleshman. “I think the Lion’s Den has made a tremendous amount of progress raising awareness about the midtier challenges, and more importantly, has identified some of the paths we believe will lead to more concrete opportunities for midtier government contractors,” said Fleshman at the announcement.

“I worked with GTSC while at CBP and found their priorities, and their rapid progress toward those priorities a great fit for Salient’s objectives for continued growth. I believe that serving as Vice Chair will allow me to guide some of our initiatives and continue to make real progress on the midtier front,” added Torres. “The latest campaign launch — especially the Lion’s Den infographic — is already making an impact.”

GTSC made the leadership change, replacing Brad Cole, Vice President of Agilex, after Accenture’s recent purchase of Agilex. “We are very grateful to Brad for his tremendous leadership — his vision and commitment to the Lion’s Den and to GTSC brought true thought leadership to the midtier challenge. We look forward to continuing our work with him at Accenture,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO of the Coalition.

Fleshman and Torres will participate in their first public discussion of midtier growth June 15 with Porter Goss, former director of the CIA and Senior Advisor at Dickstein Shapiro; Kevin Boshears, OSDBU, DHS; Michael Stabolepszy, Managing Partner & Founder of IntegrityOne Partners; Lindsay Sheehy, Partner at Dickstein Shapiro, and Ryan Hoffman, Director, The Chertoff Group. REGISTER

The Government Technology & Services Coalition is home to the Lion’s Den, a distinguished cadre of mid-sized companies devoted to the homeland and national security market. The group launched GTSC Mid Tier Solution to bring attention to the challenges of midtier government contractors in the federal market. The campaign launched with the first of a series of infographics on the value proposition for government leaders considering and selecting a midtier company. The Lion’s Den is focused on creating and supporting programs, policies and ventures to support the continuum of growth from small to mid-sized through partnership, advocacy and increased business opportunities. For more information, and to join the Lion’s Den, visit www.GTSCoalition.com.

Join the conversation on twitter with #midtier.

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The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) is a nonprofit, non-partisan 501(c)(6) association of companies that create,develop and implement solutions for the federal homeland and national security sector. Our vision is to provide an ethical, effective platform for information exchange between the public and private sector on homeland and national security ideas, technologies and innovations. Our mission is to provide exceptional advocacy, capacity building, partnership opportunities and marketing in the Federal security space for small and mid-sized companies and to support and assist our government partners achieve their critical missions with the highest integrity; best and most innovative technologies; and results-based, quality products and services to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from any terrorist attack or natural disaster. For more information on these mentors and the Government Technology & Services Coalition, please visit www.GTSCoalition.com.

Nov. 19: GTSC Annual Member Meeting

Members of the Government Technology & Services Coalition for our third annual member meeting to learn about all the services of GTSC, provide your input on our letter to incoming DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson and share your feedback for our 2014-2015 priorities!

Emile Monette, the Senior Advisor for cyber security policy for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), will join us to discuss the agency wide and interagency implementation of cyber security initiatives related to government facilities and acquisition. Linda Mathes, CEO of the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region, will talk about the American Red Cross Ready Rating program and its importance to GTSC’s Designation of Leadership Excellence. Jose Arrieta, DHS Ombudsman, will discuss the year ahead at DHS.

Given sequestration, budget cuts and possible future government shutdowns, GTSC is committed to exploring every business opportunity possible for your success. From the Small Business Collaboration Group to forming vigorous Action Groups and developing the Contracting Officers workshop, we’ve accomplished a lot over the past year and we’re excited to keep moving!

Please note: this is a GTSC Member only meeting. Thank you!

Agenda

I. Welcome and overview of GTSC’s 2012-2013: Discussion of Lion’s Den, Mentor and Workgroup activity.

Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO, GTSC
Jon Ostrowski, COO, GTSC
Workgroup Chairs
- Chair, International Initiative: RADM Donald P. Loren, CEO, Old Dominion Strategies
- Chair, Human Capital and Learning: Dr. Sheri Dougherty, President & CEO, DAI
- Co-Chair, DHS Engagement: Sara Kindsfater0-Yerkes, Managing Partner, The Big Brain Co.

II. A View of the Year Ahead

Jose Arrieta, Ombudsman, DHS

III. Meeting the Challenges

Emile Monette, Senior Advisor, Cyber Security Policy, GSA
Linda Mathes, CEO, American Red Cross in the National Capital Region
Bruce Davidson, Director, SAFETY Act Office, S&T, DHS

IV. Government Relations

Incoming Secretary Jeh Johnson
Hill Activity
- Michelle Mrdeza, Partner, Cornerstone Government Affairs & GTSC Founding Strategic Advisor
- Chani Wiggins, President & Founder, Winn Strategies & GTSC Strategic Advisor
Broadening our Base

V. Business Development

Overview of procurements and focus areas for business development
- Bill Carroll, Senior Partner, Strike Force Consulting
- Andrea McCarthy, Senior Director NTT Data
- Tony Sacco, Former Vice President, SAIC

VI. What do you see as our top priorities for 2014-2015?

Nov. 12: Will you Enter the Lion’s Den?

Calling All IEEE CEO’s…Are you ready to enter the Lion’s Den? IEEE and the Government Technology & Services Coalition invite you to enter the Lion’s Den at a newly designed plenary session at the IEEE Homeland Security Conference this year! Come before the “Lion’s” — to learn how prepared you are to succeed in today’s competitive market. Modeled after the popular television program, “Shark Tank,” the Lion’s Den invites CEOs of small businesses in front of several investors. Those investors will then ask pointed questions about the money making side of the business and uncover whether that company is really prepared, business savvy and ready to take their company to the next level.

Need more information? Contact Kristina Tanasichuk: 703-201-7198 or [email protected].

Register for the IEEE Homeland Security Conference in Boston: https://ieeeboston.org/forms/hst_regpay/hst_frm_pg/hst_regpay.php

Download the PDF flyer and forward to a friend: GTSC Lions Den Flyer IEEE Conference

Company Introductions & Capability Statements: An SBLO Overview

As the Small Business Liaison Officer for Alion Science and Technology I receive at least 10 e-mail introductions and capability statements per week. The hope from the vendor is that I will review the e-mail and capability statement and make arrangements for them to meet with the appropriate account team. This article is about improving your chances of getting your e-mail introduction and capability statement to the right account team and for them to follow-up with you.

E-mail introductions provide the opportunity to customize the information in the capability statement to the company you are targeting. In too many cases the e-mail introduction makes reference to the attached capability statement with a request to meet to discuss the capabilities of the company. Good email introductions link the product or service offerings to the targeted company’s core service areas or to a specific customer.

For example, I received an email that stated that Alion was the Prime on a specific contract that will soon be expiring and that he wanted to be part of our team for the re-compete. He outlined the services he provides to that customer in another area and the knowledge he had for that specific customer. He was in discussions with our program manager for that contract the next day. He was specific in his request, showed that he researched Alion, provided value-add information with regards to additional service offerings he could bring to Alion as well as his knowledge of the customer.

The SBLO helps to navigate your information to the appropriate team, so be specific. What account team do you want to meet with and why? What is unique about your product or service that warrants a meeting with the account team? This question is particularly important for IT companies. Many of your capability statements contain the same information as your competitors. What is your unique value add? Don’t be afraid to try new approaches. Build your capability statement around a couple of your key customers, then use that information to show breadth and depth of service offerings to the company you are targeting.

In summary, corporations look for teaming partners that can provide complimentary products or services to their core competencies, innovation and additional customer knowledge. Does your capability statement or e-mail introduction provide the necessary information to determine whether your company can provide value to us?

Clairesse Jackson Small Business Liaison OfficerAlion Science and Technology

Clairesse Jackson is the Small Business Liaison Officer for Alion Science and Technology, a Lion’s Den member of the Government Technology & Services Coalition.

Alion Science and Technology delivers advanced engineering, IT and operational solutions to strengthen national security and drive business results. For customers in defense, civilian government and commercial industries, Alion’s engineered solutions support smarter decision-making and enhanced readiness in rapidly-changing environments.

Sept. 25: Lion’s Den Meeting

The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) invites Lion’s Den members (GTSC members with an annual revenue of $15 million +) to attend this fall’s first Lion’s Den meeting on Wednesday, September 25.

Linda LeFebvre Chair, Lion’s Den & Vice President, NCI, Inc.

The Lion’s Den is a distinguished cadre of mid-sized company CEOs devoted to the homeland and national security market. Their success, the result of exceptional work for their clients and their outstanding business acumen has graduated them to “other than small” in the Federal market. This status creates new and difficult challenges for mid-sized companies now facing competition from billion dollar behemoths in the market. The Lion’s Den is focused on creating and supporting programs, policies and ventures to support the continuum of growth from small to mid-sized through partnership, advocacy and increased business opportunities. Learn more here.

April 19: Lion’s Den Meeting with Kevin Boshears, Director, OSDBU

Lion’s Den members ($15 million in revenue +) are invited to join the Government Technology & Services Coalition for its Lion’s Den Meeting with Mr. Kevin Boshears, the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This meeting will address the needs of midsize firms within the Coalition, discuss current initiatives on behalf of a mid-tier set-aside and provide the opportunity for Lion’s Den Members to share additional opportunites for the Coalition.

Agenda

I. Introductions

II. GTSC Activities

a. Designation of Excellence

b. Survey

c. Collaboration group for mid-tier?

d. Insurance and benefits

e. Contracting/acquisition issue with EAGLE II

f. Discussion of new challenges, suggestions

III. Discussion: Mid-Tier Set-Aside efforts

Mr. Kevin Boshears will join our meeting for a discussion of his work on behalf of the mid-tier community. In addition to being a tireless advocate on behalf of the small business community, Mr. Boshears understands, and has focused on the challenges facing mid-tier companies. His insights and efforts are outstanding, and we welcome him to share some of his work with us.

About Mr. Kevin Boshears

Mr. Boshears was named Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) in May, 2003. He is responsible for the overall implementation of the Department’s small business procurement program. Prior to this, Mr. Boshears was named Director of the Treasury Department’s OSDBU in February, 1999 where he had served as the Acting Director since August, 1998. He previously served in the same office as a Procurement Analyst since June, 1995 and was responsible for providing guidance to the Small Business Specialists located in Treasury’s twelve bureaus. He also worked on Treasury’s small business website and represented Treasury at various governmental, congressional, and trade association outreach activities. Mr. Boshears brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the procurement field, having served as a Contracting Officer for the Justice Department prior to his small business duties at the Treasury Department. Mr. Boshears is a well known instructor in the federal small business procurement arena. On numerous occasions, he has conducted training courses, made presentations, and handled briefings on contracting with small, small disadvantaged, 8(a), women-owned small, HUBZone small, and service disabled veteran-owned small business concerns. Mr. Boshears currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Directors’ Interagency Council, originally elected to the position for FY 2001 and re-elected for both FY 2002 and FY 2003. On May 9 -10, 2002, Mr. Boshears was presented with the Frances Perkins Vanguard Award for Exemplary Utilization of Women-Owned Small Businesses by a Federal Procurement Official and the Gold Star Award for Excellence by the U. S. Small Business Administration. He holds a BBA degree from the College of William and Mary, and earned his MBA from Liberty University.