Weekly Roundup
June 8 – June 12 2015


A Note From Our President & Founder Jim Garrettson

The GovCon sector saw another event in its mergers-and-acquisitions landscape this week but this move serves as a contrast from the other deals observed in 2015 so far.
STG, the Reston, Va.-based contractor founded by Simon Lee in 1986, said it agreed to be purchased by special purpose acquisition company Global Defense & National Security Systems for $165 million — $75 million in cash and $90.5 million in stock — or $10.55 per share.
GDEF will give STG stockholders majority ownership of the combined company and the public and Global Strategies Group will hold the remaining stock.
GDEF, which is also based in Reston, went public in 2013 with the backing Global Strategy Group’s leaders and was formed to acquire mid-tier defence and intelligence businesses, then pursue growth through organic means and additional mergers or acquisitions.
Global Strategies Group is the same organization that in 2007 acquired the systems engineering and intelligence analysis contractor now known as Sotera Defense Solutions, which undertook its own initial public offering in late 2009.
Sotera, then known as Global Defense Technology & Systems Inc., was sold to private equity firm Ares Management for $315 million in April 2011.
STG Chairman and CEO Simon Lee will hold the chairman title at the combined company and Paul Fernandes, STG’s president and chief operating officer, will lead that future entity.
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The Internet of Things will be the focal point of discussion at the Potomac Officers Club’s “IoT” summit this coming Tuesday, when GovCon and federal leaders will share insights on the convergence of appliances and building systems with the Internet.
Vint Cerf, widely recognized as a “father of the Internet” and Google’s chief Internet evangelist, will address the executive audience for the half-day event at the Hilton in McLean, Va.
John Pescatore, director of emerging security at the SANS Institute and a speaker at POC’s 2013 cloud summit, will return to offer his perspective on how agencies and businesses can collaborate to protect connected devices and networks.
Additional speakers from industry will include Peter Rommess, Cisco’s public sector cybersecurity leader, and Michael Riley, an executive for worldwide IoT offerings at IBM.
Speakers from government will include Kevin Kampschroer, director of federal high-performance green buildings at the General Services Administration; Sokwoo Rhee, associate director of cyber-physical systems at the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and Gil Nolte, director of trusted systems research at the National Security Agency.

Click here to register for the IoT summit and view POC’s full event calendar.

THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES

Rick Wagner Appointed to ManTech SVP Post; Bill Varner Comments
Wagner joins the Fairfax, Va.-based technical services contractor after a 16-year career at TASC, where he most recently served as chief strategy officer.
Grant Thornton Names Carlos Otal as Public Sector Practice Managing Partner
The 10-year veteran of the worldwide accounting and consulting firm most recently helped lead financial management work for the public sector practice.
Rob Carey Joins Vencore as Navy, Marine Corps Programs VP; Mac Curtis Comments
The former public sector cyber lead at CSC will oversee Vencore’s systems integration, research and data analytics work for the Navy and Marine Corps.
Scott Lehr to Lead Orbital ATK’s Flight Systems Group; David Thompson Comments
Lehr is a 31-year veteran of the former ATK and helped lead the integration of its defense and aerospace business with the former Orbital Sciences.
Barbara Humpton on Siemens Gov’t Technologies’ Renewable Energy Focus, Infrastructure Trends to Watch
Humpton also overviews her focus areas since she became the subsidiary’s COO six months ago in Q&A with ExecutiveBiz.
Gulu Gambhir on Leidos’ R&D Agenda and STEM Education, Hiring Partnerships
Leidos’ CTO also describes his keys to the alignment of technology with the firm’s business goals in interview with ExecutiveBiz.
LGS to Help CenturyLink Update DoD’s Research, Engineering Network; Tim Meehan, Kevin Kelly Comment
LGS will act as a subcontractor to CenturyLink for the 10-year project.
Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch: DoD Should Eye ‘SATCOM as a Service’ Model
Cowen-Hirsch, an SVP at Inmarsat, offers her view on how the military should modify its satellite services acquisitions in op-ed article.
Army Secretary John McHugh to Leave Post in November
McHugh has held the top civilian role for the Army since September 2009 and has also served nine terms as a congressional representative for New York.
Frank Kendall to Sign Reform Plan for DoD Services Acquisition Program
Authority on contracting programs would be delegated to lower-level officials and implement health assessments on acquisition practices and results.
OFPP’s Anne Rung Issues Guidance on Reverse Auctions
Rung, the White House procurement office’s lead, outlines how agencies should determine whether or not to use reverse auctions.
Mary Davie: New Labor Categories, Cyber Standards to Feature in Alliant 2 Vehicles
Davie, head of GSA’s integrated technology service office, previews the agency’s next steps for the Alliant program’s next iteration.
DCMA to Open More Commercial Services Centers; Shay Assad Comments
DoD also plans to release an instruction manual for program managers and contracting officers on how to define the requirements.
Tony Scott: OMB Releases Federal IT Reform Implementation Guide
The U.S. chief information officer outlines the government’s efforts to get agency CIOs more involved in IT procurements.
Senate Turns Down Cyber Data Sharing Bill
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sought to attach the Cyber Information Sharing Act as an amendment to an FY 2016 defense spending bill.
House Approves 2016 Defense Spending Legislation, Senate Panel OKs Companion Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved $575.9 billion in FY 2016 funds for the Pentagon, $3 billion less than the bill approved by the full House.
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