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Budgetary Opportunities and Challenges for GovCon Programs

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The Center for Government Contracting is pleased to partner with the Association for Corporate Growth to co-host an event, Budgetary Opportunities and Challenges for GovCon Programs, on December 11 from 7:30 to 9:30 am. The recurring cycle of continuing resolutions and budgetary uncertainty create significant turbulence for both company executives and government program managers. The start of programs can be delayed, development programs can be disrupted, and the sustainment of critical capabilities can be significantly impacted. Beyond these near-term impacts, the cyclical nature of spending over time has led to repeated boom or bust periods that also lead to increased inefficiencies and cost in the development and delivery of programs.

The discussion panel includes: Jeff Bohling, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Defense Group, Perspecta; Chris O’Donnell, DASD, Platform and Weapon Portfolio Management; and Alan Stewart, CFO, Peraton. Jennifer Taylor, Senior Fellow, Center for Government Contracting, George Mason University will moderate the discussion, the topic of which is the focus of her soon to be published White Paper, "The Cost of Saving Money: The Negative Impact of Roller Coaster DoD Funding."

Congrats to Sumeet Shrivastava — A WashingtonExec 2019 Top CEO to Watch

WashingtonExec has selected Center Advisory Board Member Sumeet Shrivastava as one of their top ten CEOs to Watch in 2019. Congratulations Sumeet! [WashingtonExec, December 4, 2019]

Center for Government Contracting Launches White Paper Series

The Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University’s School of Business has released the first three research papers in a series examining challenges in the government contracting industry.

“The Center for Government Contracting White Paper Series is a central focus of our mission to inject ideas into the government contracting ecosystem and identify potential solutions for challenges facing the community,” said Executive Director Jerry McGinn, PhD. “We are excited to launch this White Paper Series with these three reports, and we look forward to feedback and ideas for future topics.”

In releasing these White Papers, the Center gratefully acknowledges the works of its Senior Fellows who produced them:

• Unintended Consequences of Small Business Contracting, Craig Reed [PDF]
• Pricing Intellectual Property in Defense Competitions: Toward Theoretical and Practical Advice for Government Officials and Government Contractors, James Hasik [PDF]
• The Cost of Saving Money: The Negative Impact of Roller Coaster DoD Funding, Jennifer Taylor [PDF]
• The Center welcomes comments and suggestions for additional topics of research. These ideas may be sent to govcon@gmu.edu.

Additional information is provided on this website, under Research, White Papers.

Another Successful Mason Alumni GovCon Happy Hour

Many thanks to the George Mason alumni who joined us for our latest GovCon happy hour. As anticipated, it proved fruitful for the attendees – as a chance to connect and share with other alumni and to hear about Center programs and plans. We look forward to another happy hour in the Spring.

Confronting the Challenges Facing Today's Government Contracting Community

2019 Government Contracting Conference, Oct. 3, 2019

From left: John Hillen, Roger Krone, Maury Peiperl, Jim Woolsey, and Jerry McGinn.

The School of Business' Center for Government Contracting and Defense Acquisition University cohosted a first-time conference geared toward the government contracting community on October 3 at the Washington Marriott Metro Center. The Conference offered Fireside Chats with Roger Krone, Chief Executive Officer of Leidos; Ellen Lord, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, and Representative Denver Riggleman (R-VA) with a perspective from the Hill; and four panels on New approaches to Federal contracting; Intellectual property and supply chain security; Small business policy trends; and Workforce challenges for government and industry.

Post-Conference Media Reports

School of Business: Government Contracting Conference Highlights Continuing Challenges and Need for Increased Government, Industry, and Academic Collaboration, Robert Appel, October 21, 2019

Inside Defense: Section 809 panel chair warns against ‘abuse’ of other transaction agreements, Justin Doubleday
October 3, 2019

Inside Defense: Lord says key acquisition reforms near completion, Tony Bertuca, October 4, 2019

Washington Technology: Leidos CEO shares insights on his commercial strategy

Government Contracting Conference — Media Buzz

George Mason University, Defense Acquisition University to Host Government Contracting Conference on Oct. 3rd; Featuring Wash100 Awardees Roger Krone, Hon. Ellen Lord, William McCormick, GovConWire, September 30, 2019

"GMU Conference Aims to Become Go-To Event for GovCon Community," WashingtonExec, September 24, 2019

"GMU’s Dr. Jerry McGinn: Happy warrior for contracting and acquisition learning," by Tom Temin, Federal News Network, August 6, 2019

Graduate Programs Develop Talent Pipeline for New Amazon HQ and Local Businesses

Shortly after the announcement by Amazon that their newest headquarters will be located in Northern Virginia, George Mason University announced an initiative to bolster research and develop more high-tech talent through a large-scale expansion of its Arlington Campus. This move will rapidly increase the number of highly skilled graduates for Amazon and other regional employers. “Amazon coming to our area is a symbol of the transition that Washington, D.C., is making, transitioning from a primarily federal government town to a primarily business and tech town with a significant portion that has a technology focus,” says Dean Maury Peiperl. “It’s very clear that in our regional economy, the government slice has stayed constant and the business slice has grown.” [Announcement]

Specialization Is Key for Government Contracting Industry Success

Brett Josephson, assistant professor of marketing, has studied government contracting since he was a PhD student. In recently published research, Josephson—together with Ju-Yeon Lee, assistant professor of marketing at Iowa State University, and Babu John Mariadoss and Jean Lynn Johnson, associate professors of marketing at Washington State University—recommended that companies focus on specialization. Damian Cristodero, November 4, 2019. [Announcement]

Washington Technology: Why government services M&A deals seem to breeze through antitrust reviews

In an article written by Ross Wilkers, senior staff writer for Washington Technology, Jerry McGinn shared insights on why service firms seem to have an easier time in gaining government approval of their mergers and acquisitions. [Article]

FedTech — Government Reset

Jerry McGinn was included in a panel discussion led by Wylie Wong, a writer with FedTech Magazine, on the long-term effects of the government shutdown on federal technology projects. The topics discussed included IT modernization projects, procurement, cybersecurity and contracting. [Article, Summer 2019]

Commentary: In Praise of the Revolving Door

James Hasik, Senior Fellow at the Center for Government Contracting, has written a piece for Defense News. [July 24, 2019, Article Link] Jim offers his thoughts of a plan "To Reduce Corporate Influence at the Pentagon.

Executive Director’s Commentary on Navy’s Education for Seapower Study on the Future Education of Navy Leaders, June 19, 2019 [Article Link]

New Advisory Board Members

The press release on the Center's newest appointments to the Advisory Board [see below for full press release] was picked up by Washington Technology, ExecutiveBiz, and GovConWire.

School of Business Opens Registration for Executive MBA in National Security

The Executive MBA in National Security provides professionals interested in working in national security, the defense industry or government contracting space the competencies and knowledge to benefit their careers and long-terms goals. Focusing on national security and defense industry government contracting, a participant can complete the program in 16 months. [Program Description]

Center for Government Contracting Appoints New Advisory Board Members

The Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University’s School of Business has appointed nine new Advisory Board members. “These additional appointments continue our efforts to diversify the composition of the center’s board, from small to large firms, whether products or services, and with business and government representation,” said Center Executive Director Jerry McGinn. “These new members add to the rich ecosystem of thought leadership to help drive future center research and events on topics of great interest to the GovCon community.”

New members of the Center for Government Contracting board are:

• Dana A. Beyeler Senior Vice President, Ellwood Group, Inc.
• Paul Edelmann General Manager, Unison
• Jennifer Eubanks Owner, CPA Department
• Kaylene H. Green President & Chief Executive Officer, Flagship Government Relations
• Scott Hine Senior Executive Service, US Department of Energy
• Hannibal S. Jackson President & Chief Executive Officer, Y-Tech, LLC
• Barbara Kinosky Managing Partner, Centre Law and Consulting
• Jeffrey J. Roncka Senior Partner, Renaissance Strategic Advisors
• Tom Tagle, CPA, Baker Tilly Virchos Krause, LLP

Scott Hine is serving on the Board in his personal capacity. His service does not reflect the activities or opinions of the Department of Energy or the federal government. [Press Release]

Transatlantic Industrial Interests and the Risk of Technological Gap in the Defense Sector

Jerry McGinn, executive director of the Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University’s School of Business, was invited to speak and participate in a discussion led by The German Marshall Fund of the United States. The discussion was held as part of an on-going Transatlantic Security Task Force project in Paris, France, from April 8–9, 2019. The theme of the discussion was U.S. Strategic Priorities and the New Terms of the Transatlantic Defense Partnership.

This program underlined the key challenges that will continue to frame debates on the transatlantic defense cooperation in an increasingly complex political and strategic environment. Jerry’s paper addressed the panel topic: “Transatlantic Industrial Interests and the Risk of Technological Gap in the Defense Sector.”

Media Mention — "Ripe for engagement: George Mason's 'GovCon' center targets massive
federal contracting market." Chairman John Hillen and Executive Director Jerry McGinn shared the history and direction of the Center for Government Contracting in an interview for the University-Industry Engagement Advisor, April 2019. Here is a link if you would like to subscribe to this newsletter and read the interview.

Industry Discussion — CFIUS Modernization: Implications for Government and Industry, with Heath Tarbert, Assistant Secretary for International Markets, U.S. Department of the Treasury — April 5, 2019. Secretary Tarbert shared insights on the reasons for recent reforms in the CFIUS process, including a pilot program regarding controlling investments and the process of identifying emerging and foundational technologies.

Alumni Happy Hour — Why we look forward to these events

The most recent Happy Hour for Alumni, held March 20, brought together alumni, faculty, and members of the Center's Board of Advisors. The chance to network and share ideas and interests has proven to be a highly sought after event. The background of the attendees ranged from junior, mid-level and senior practitioners in the industry. A point of pride for the Center is that this event attracts all Mason alumni who work in the GovCon industry, from the Business School, to Schar, and the Law Center.

Korn Ferry, Perspective — In search of 'cleared' talent

Jerry McGinn joined a discussion with Jon Barney, a senior client partner with Korn Ferry's Aerospace and Defense practice and a member of the Center's Advisory Board, on the challenge for technology companies to find "cleared" employees to add to their workforce. The article includes suggestions are how to hire and employ workers in face of this challenge. [February 29, 2019, article]

Federal News Network — New government contracting center aims to fill independent research, education void Jerry McGinn, executive director of the Government Contracting Center, talks to Executive Editor Jason Miller about the center's three-pronged approach to research, education, and collaboration. Interview Link. This February 20, 2019 interview also appeared in on ExecutiveBiz Blog.

Center for Government Contracting Launch Reception: A reception was held on January 30, 2019 to celebrate the launch of the School of Business Center for Government Contracting. The great crowd of attendees manifested our vision to be a nexus for government, industry, and academia to address issues in government contracting. Pictured above, from left to right: Sumeet Shrivastava, Maury Peiperl, Jerry McGinn, John Hillen, and Jerry Grossman. [Reception Photographs]

Can the shutdown lead to better government? A Commentary by Jerry McGinn and John Hillen in Washington Technology on January 22, 2019 that examines how government and government contractors are managing the shutdown and keys for the future. [link]

Government Matters: Interview with Jerry McGinn on how the public and private sectors are navigating the shutdown, and mitigating issues that could arise, January 17, 2019 [link]

Shrivastava GovCon Scholarship Recipient Committed to Serving Community as CPA, Business Owner: Karen Crosswhite, a Master of Science in Accounting student at the George Mason University School of Business, is the first student to receive the Shrivastava GovCon Scholarship. Crosswhite is also the founder of BAS Accounting Services, a small Certified Public Accountant firm located in Ashburn, Va. Sumeet Shrivastava, EMBA ‘94 and president and CEO of ARRAY established the scholarship. Shrivastava is also a member of the School of Business Dean’s Council and GovCon Advisory Council. In addition to providing funds to the scholarship awardee, the Shrivastava GovCon Scholarship includes a mentorship component. Crosswhite will receive support from the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Center for Government Contracting. [announcement]

Have you seen our FALL 2018 Report on Center activities? Here is the link.

Congratulations to Mark Nevins and John Hillen, authors of "What Happens Now? Reinvent Yourself as a Leader Before Your Business Outruns You." This book was selected by Soundview as a 2018 Best Business Book. See their website for more information.

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