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ExecutiveBiz: What is your background and how did you get to SRA?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
I joined SRA in April 2007 from Lockheed Martin. I wasn’t really planning to move as I had been with Lockheed for 22 years. But I have a lot of respect for SRA Chairman Ernst Volgenau and he had a tremendous impact on my decision. SRA is an Excellent company. I did a lot of background work before I made the move and it has been reinforced now that I’m here. SRA is a great company with good values and ethics and a solid focus on customers. For seven years in a row, SRA has been named by Fortune Magazine as one of the Fortune 100 best places to work. Just a nice, nice company and a nice place to be. I am having a great time and every day I look forward to coming to work.
In terms of starting in the government contracting business, I started at General Electric Aerospace in 1984. GE Aerospace was acquired by Martin Marietta and they were acquired by Lockheed Martin and that is how I ended up at Lockheed Martin.
ExecutiveBiz: What’s your current role at SRA?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
I am SRA’s President & CEO.
ExecutiveBiz: You’ve been onboard for a little while. What would you say is your top priority for the company in 2008?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
My top priority has been setting the course to grow SRA’s business to what we call “5 and 10 by 12.” That’s five billion in revenue and 10% operating margin by fiscal year 2012.
ExecutiveBiz: What is your plan to get there?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
SRA has created a roadmap consisting of two threads – one is organic growth, the other growth through acquisition. To get to five billion in revenue by 2012, we will need roughly a 30% compound growth rate and we believe we can accomplish that with our acquisitive and organic growth plan. We have already begun with our recent acquisition of Constella Health Group. The Health Sector as a whole is a potentially strong growth area for the industry and for us.
ExecutiveBiz: What’s your view of the M&A space as it relates to SRA?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
SRA is looking for premium companies that will make us a better company. We’re not interested in buying problem companies that we have to turn around or fix. I don’t want to divert management’s attention to fixing things; I want their focus on extending our capabilities. We’re looking for premium properties.
ExecutiveBiz: What’s your biggest challenge in business right now?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
At the end of 2007, it was the lack of a Federal budget. With the recent actions taken by Congress and the President, though, appropriations are moving forward. We worked hard to position the company to deal with these delays and I think SRA has weathered that pretty well.
ExecutiveBiz: Have you found the recent SBA rule change regarding recertification impact valuations one way or another?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
You know everybody asks that but to be honest with you not really. There are a few companies in that category that we passed on because of that, but they tend to be very small and we really haven’t been affected by it.
ExecutiveBiz: How has the culture changed since you’ve been here in the last 8 months?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
I think anytime a new CEO comes on board you have some cultural change. SRA’s core values of honesty and service certainly haven’t changed though, and I intend to do everything I can to preserve those. At the same time, we will implement new ways to grow the business, provide opportunity for our people and provide ever-improving products and services to our customers.
ExecutiveBiz: What is your view of working with small business?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
I think it’s important. Small businesses add a lot of value to us. We frequently find certain technical or specific experience in small companies that are key elements of a bigger opportunity, so it’s important to work with them. And it’s also the right thing to do.
ExecutiveBiz: How would you describe your leadership style?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
Generally, I am an exception manager. I like to delegate responsibility, empower people and let them do their jobs. I provide guidance when it’s needed, but generally I support an environment that lets people manage themselves, make decisions and get the job done.
ExecutiveBiz: What hot trends are you tracking for this year and next year, to position SRA for a good year next year?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
First of all, I tend to think of trends over a three-five year period. For SRA, our business is already positioned for the coming months —our proposals are already underway. So in terms of business/opportunity trends, I think healthcare is certainly one that will be a trend throughout the next several years. As I mentioned, we just completed an acquisition in the healthcare space. We now have a healthcare-related business that generates approximately 300 million dollars a year; not in the doctor-patient part of the healthcare industry but in the healthcare systems -- pharmaceutical development, IT solutions and support, policy development and program management. So if you look at trends in spending, Healthcare continues to rise. It’s such a large portion of the GNP you really can’t afford not to pay attention to it. I think that’s a strategic focus for SRA.
ExecutiveBiz: What are your guiding principles or how do you decide, what makes a good company versus one you might pass on?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
First of all it’s about cultural fit, integrity and values. If there isn’t a fit in those areas, you’ll never mesh; it just won’t work. Second, it’s about synergy. SRA’s strategy is not to buy things just because they are for sale. That’s not what we want to do. We look for one plus one is three. Healthcare is a good example of our acquisition strategy. If you think of both companies (SRA and Constella) before the acquisition, neither company was positioned to be a large prime contractor in the healthcare space. I’m talking about opportunities with US government agencies like the CDC and NIH. But when you put the two companies together, we are positioned as a prime contractor and that to me is synergy and that is what SRA looks for. That’s the best kind of acquisition, I think.
ExecutiveBiz: What is something most people don’t know about SRA when you go out and meet people?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
I think customers are surprised when they learn about the breadth of the company in terms of technologies. I think a lot of our customers think of us right now as a much narrower IT provider. In fact, we have pretty broad capabilities beyond IT, including technology and strategic consulting services and solutions - including systems design, development and integration, outsourcing and managed services. We have clients in defense, national security, civil government, health care and public health. Our business solutions include business intelligence (text and data mining) contingency and disaster response planning, information assurance, environmental strategies, enterprise architecture, infrastructure management, and wireless integration.
ExecutiveBiz: What advice would you give the CEO of a small business wanting to partner, subcontract with SRA?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
I would tell them to bring something of value to the party and make sure SRA understands the value of it. The best teams and the best relationships are when both parties contribute something significant. So for small businesses, it’s all about providing something that’s value-added, being able to articulate that value to us and making SRA aware of it.
ExecutiveBiz: Looking back in your career is there any setback that helped you in your current role and to move ahead?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
You can’t be in business for 22 years and not have problems. The trick is what do you do when you have setbacks. I’ve never had a problem that I didn’t learn from, didn’t recover from and didn’t benefit from the experience. So I’ve had my fair share but I didn’t let it stop me from moving forward.
ExecutiveBiz: Is there anything that you learned that would help other people learn?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
There are so many lessons I’ve learned I’m not sure where to start. A lot of the lessons have to do with people. People will make mistakes. You can’t insulate everybody from problems and failures, but you have to watch the warning signs and be prepared to intervene and get help for people. People have a natural reluctance to ask for help. They want to try to take care of everything themselves and that can sometimes lead to disaster. It’s all about paying attention to the warning signals, intervening where you have to intervene while also letting them learn from experience. You have to guide them while letting them develop leadership skills.
ExecutiveBiz: What is something most people don’t know about you?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
I’m a pilot and fly my own plane.
ExecutiveBiz: How has your Navy background helped you to be a CEO?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
First of all the military is wonderful place to learn leadership. You are given a lot of responsibility at an early age. I also think the environment the Navy operates in is unique, particularly when deployed at sea. You don’t have all the infrastructure support you do on land. You’re away, independently operating and you have to become very resourceful in how you deal with things. What I observe about Navy people is they tend to be problem solvers because that’s kind of the environment they live in. It’s not like you can run down to Sears and pick something up. What you have at sea is what you have. So you become pretty resourceful, pretty interactive because you have to look for help from other people. It is just a different world. I think that breeds a particular outlook on management which I think transfers very well to the business world.
ExecutiveBiz: So you were on a carrier?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
Yes, I was on the USS John F Kennedy and USS Eisenhower.
ExecutiveBiz: What is your favorite restaurant?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
My favorite restaurant would have to be The Greenhouse in London. I was just there a few weeks ago and loved it. Without a doubt they have the best cheese tray I've ever seen.
ExecutiveBiz: What is the last book you read?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
I love reading about history. Two of my favorite books are Undaunted Courage: The Pioneering First Mission to Explore America’s Wild Frontier and 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. I liked Undaunted Courage because it highlighted the heroic effort of Lewis & Clark during their journey and the monumental challenges they had to overcome to conduct their expedition. 1491 was an interesting examination of the Americas pre-Columbus, and how many of our assumptions about this part of the world had been inaccurate.
ExecutiveBiz: Whom in business do admire and why?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
Jack Welch. He had remarkable foresight and a willingness to act on it.
ExecutiveBiz: What is the legacy that Renny DiPentima left at SRA?
Dr. Stan Sloane:
Renny helped prepare SRA to move to the next level. We worked out a transition period and Renny stayed on the Board while I got to know the company, the employees and the customers. He’s a true gentleman and has been extremely helpful to me. He leaves behind large shoes to fill.
For more information about
SRA International, visit
www.sra.com.
Interview with Dr. Stan Sloane conducted by JD Kathuria.
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