Photo of Mac Curtis Mac Curtis President and CEO Pearson Government Solutions In the 01/04/2007 edition of ExecutiveBiz we had a chance to catch up with Mac Curtis, President and CEO of Pearson Government Solutions. Last month, private equity investment firm Veritas Capital Partners announced it will acquire Pearson Government Solutions for $600 million in a cash and stock deal. Mac Curtis has agreed to stay on to continue running the company. In an exclusive interview, we sit down with Mac Curtis to discuss the transaction, the company’s goal to reach $1billion dollars in revenue, and what he learned during the deal.

ExecutiveBiz: Tell us about the recent deal to sell Pearson Government Solutions to Veritas Capital. Mac Curtis: It was a big decision for Pearson plc to sell Pearson Government Solutions. Our business achieved tremendous growth since it joined Pearson six years ago when we were NCS. At the end of 1999, our revenue was $98 million. In 2006, we’ll be over $530 million. Our revenue has grown steadily over the years. We’ve won some significant deals with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Education and the Defense Information Systems Agency, to name a few. Much of our success comes from our company’s solid record of delivering superior services and information to our customers. Our record for client retention is one of the best in the industry. The sale of Pearson Government Solutions is a mark of our success. With our new owners, we want to take the company to $1 billion dollars in annual revenue. A large percentage of our growth will be organic. Another element will be future acquisitions. The sale of Pearson Government Solutions to Veritas Capital is a phenomenal ‘win-win’ for everyone. For Pearson plc, it will allow them to focus on their core business: publishing and education. For us, it means we’ll be a stand-alone company, focused on what we do best: consulting, systems integration and business process outsourcing services. With our new owners, we’ll be able to strategically target new opportunities in our marketplaces and aggressively invest in our future growth. I spent a lot of time working with Veritas and I know they share our excitement about the future of our company. They consider PGS an important part of their portfolio. We’re very fortunate to be working with Veritas Capital. At this critical point in our company’s history, we have a great opportunity to place our full capabilities in the defense and intelligence space. Our international and commercial businesses are also very successful. We are a growing and profitable business, and being a stand-alone company will allow us to more freely invest our financial resources in our growth. ExecutiveBiz: What are the challenges of integration? Mac Curtis: Fortunately, there’s really not much to integrate. As a Pearson company, we had a lot of autonomy. Our core lines of business (civilian, defense and intelligence, health care, international and commercial) are already well integrated. Today, we are well poised to continue delivering superior services to our customers. ExecutiveBiz: What about the deal surprised you or you learned about yourself? Mac Curtis: I realized how much I really enjoy this business. As we were going through the sales process last summer, I gave a number of management briefings. I was proud to stand up and represent all of the hard working people who make my job a lot easier. I felt pretty lucky to be leading a great company with a great future. ExecutiveBiz: Do you plan to stay for a while? Mac Curtis: You bet – I have a lot of work to do! For more information about Pearson Government Solutions, visit www.pearsongovernmentsolutions.com. Interview with Mac Curtis conducted by JD Kathuria. Enjoy this interview? Digg It! Check out more Executive Spotlights ...