Bill Hoover

Bill Hoover
President and CEO
AMERICAN SYSTEMS

In July of 2005, we spoke with Bill shortly after he took the helm at AMERICAN SYSTEMS, a $230 Million IT services contractor in the DC area. Sixteen months later, we checked back with the man known in the industry as a change leader, to see, in fact, what has changed.

Click here for the full interview.

"2007 will see a continued focus on extending the life of legacy systems and the start of fewer new enterprise-level programs in the Civilian Agencies. This results from continued funding to support military conflicts and the Continuing Resolution. Mid-size companies with a history of valued-added service will benefit from this situation."

-- Jeanne LeFevre, Senior VP, Dynamics Research Corporation

"I predict that this will be the year of Informatics. The science of Informatics - data mining, knowledge discovery, and information assurance - is poised to create new businesses and solve business challenges globally. And with the concentration of federal agencies, educational institutions and tech businesses, Maryland is truly already the Informatics capitol of the world. This is the year when Informatics will move from the the back rooms of IT departments, out of scientific labs and from the classroom to the Board Room."

-- Julie Coons, CEO, Tech Council of Maryland

"(1) Excitement continues around Web 2.0 companies, but investors become more prudent as reality sinks in. (2) Private Equity takeovers of large companies continue, but pace slows toward year end as oversupply of capital in this investment class leads to some bad deals. (3) Apple iPhones sell at record pace once available in June."

-- Charlie Thomas, CEO, Razorsight

"The Federal Sector will continue its current course, with limited new program starts. Opportunities for growth will be in areas closely tied to our National priorities. Federal agencies will continue to pursue means of reducing the cost of infrastructure through more efficient uses of resources and by consolidation of services."

-- Charles Narang, Chairman & CEO, NCI, Inc.

"Uncertainty…how will the stated plans of the new Democratic Congress impact the contractor community? While there will be shifts in priorities and delays in specific projects (which result in a slowdown in planned hiring in the contractor segment), the federal IT spend will still exceed $65B so the opportunity continues to be compelling and large."

-- Rick Marcotte, President and CEO, DLT Solutions, Inc.

"This is not a prediction but a sincere hope for 2007. As the traffic in Northern Virginia gets worse every year, most of our politicians and most of our business leaders do nothing to address this serious problem. Hopefully, business leaders will now demand and get action from elected officials, or will work to replace them with people who will act."

-- Alan Merten, President, George Mason Univiversity

"I believe that we will continue to see tremendous opportunities to grow and expand in 2007 – especially in the area of Homeland Security. The performance challenge will be in the “hot” competition to hire quality staff with security clearances to support our key customers. Also, the government contracting sector’s mergers and acquisition climate that we’ve seen the last few years will change significantly due to the new SBA rules regarding recertification. Valuations of small businesses will be impacted as acquirers now must take a close look at the percent of business from set-aside programs that could vanish as a result of the required recertification. In the end, small business owners take the hit as acquirers will add contingencies to purchases based on the post acquisition risks."

-- Paul Leslie, President & CEO, Apogen Technologies

"For federal contractors, 2007 will come down to “show me.” Budget pressures, plus increased demand for citizen services, will force vendors to deliver what SAP calls “public return on investment.” We must show not just financial return on government IT investments, but the social and political benefits as well. Be prepared."

-- Rand Blazer, President, SAP Public Services, Inc.

Susan DeFife

Susan DeFife
Former CEO
Backfence

Susan DeFife,CEO of Backfence resigned recently along with her key management team. The situation at Backfence came down to a difference of opinion on strategic direction of the company. We speak with Susan to discuss why she left and what she plans to do next.

Click here for the full interview.

Exclusive Investigative Report: Outrageous Executive Perks and Compensation!

Bob London
President, London, Ink LLC

We’ve heard and read much hand-wringing and posturing about the extreme compensation doled out to senior executives. But until someone does something to curb these ridiculous packages, perks and demands, the problem goes on.

Now, in an exclusive investigative report, we examine some of the less publicized but most egregious cases of outrageous executive compensation.

1. The CEO of a leading tool and die manufacturer received a $1,000,000 bonus for remembering to tie his shoes before entering the annual shareholder meeting.
2. The chief marketing officer of a consumer electronics company negotiated a guarantee that his daily iced latte will arrive at exactly 8:07:31 a.m. and be chilled to exactly 41.2° F.
3. As part of his employment contract, the president of a global information systems firm receives a weekly pedicure while watching Spanish-language episodes of Sponge Bob.
4. The CFO of a leading government contractor is awarded a $500,000 bonus for every earnings announcement that contains fewer than two typos.
5. The chairman of a worldwide financial services firm is driven to work each day in a limousine by the international entertainer and guitarist, Charo.
6. The vice president of corporate communications for a major publisher receives a $5,000 bonus for each embellishment of her CEO’s bio on Wikipedia—the bonus is doubled if the embellishment is actually true.
7. The general counsel for a publicly traded data processing concern earns $10,000 in bonus compensation for every month in which the company’s CEO is not incarcerated or forced to appear in court.
8. The severance package awarded to the president of a multi-billion dollar travel agency consisted of 41,500 McDonald’s Value Meals.
9. The contract negotiated by the SVP of global sales and distribution for a cosmetics firm specifies that the company maintain for her a private “green room,” adjacent to her office that is an exact replica of the one used by guests of the Conan O’Brien show, right down to the 12 oz. bottles of Pellegrino stocked in the mini-fridge and the extra large brandy snifter full of Mike & Ike candy.
10. The general manager of a manufacturing plant in Taiwan is greeted daily by an L.E.D. sign with the day’s date followed by the words, “through these doors walks the finest boss the world has ever known.”
11. The CEO of a global telecom conglomerate received, as part of his compensation package, an unlimited lifetime gift certificate to Build-a-Bear, entitling him to all the free bears he can build.

Bob London is president of London, Ink LLC, a full-service marketing and communications firm and serves as a Virtual VP of Marketing for growth-stage companies that need hands-on project-based leadership in marketing strategy and planning. More information is available at www.londonink.com.

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