Market Solutions Series Launches April 24

THE MARKET SOLUTION SERIES: Lessons from the Sale of National Security Interest Corporation (NISC)
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GTSC launches its Market Solutions Series April 24th!

The Market Solution Series provides an inside look at creative, successful iterations in the Federal homeland and national security market. These intimate roundtables take you inside the “story” and allow you to understand the market components and forces that resulted in success. Developed for companies within the Coalition that want to partner, team and learn how to collaborate for success, the series focuses on real-world business solutions and ideas to pursue Federal opportunities.

Join us for our first candid discussion with
Andrew Maner
Vice President and Partner, NISC Business Leader in IBM’s Global Business Services Public Sector Practice and former Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

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In 2010, IBM purchased the National Security Interest Corporation (NISC) after its stellar growth in the homeland and national security market. Join us to hear the story of how the NISC was started, funded and grown through acquisition and solid leadership to a success tory earning it NVTC’s “Hottest Exit” award.

About Mr. Maner
In addition to leading IBM’s NISC business, he was recently named to lead the Strategy and Growth for IBM Public Sector Leader Chuck Prow. Prior to being acquired by IBM in March of 2010, Maner was the Chief Executive Officer of National Interest Security Company (NISC), a 1,000 employee DC Capital backed Information Management/Services and Technology Management Consulting Company serving the intelligence, homeland security, DoD, federal medical and energy marketplaces.
In 2006-2007, he was President of ABM LLC, an advisory services firm specializing in federal strategic sales, marketing and messaging, and revenue growth activities in federal, state, and local security markets.
Mr. Maner was appointed by President George W. Bush in January 2004 as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until March of 2006. As the CFO, Mr. Maner was responsible for the on-going integration of agencies such as the Transportation Security Agency, United States Cost Guard, United States Secret Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and FEMA into DHS. Maner also managed all budget, finance, financial systems, strategic planning and investment review functions within the ~$50 billion Cabinet Department.
Mr. Maner also served at the U.S. Customs Service (later to become U.S. Customs and Border Protection under the Department of Homeland Security) from January 2002 to January 2004. Mr. Maner was the Chief of Staff to U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner, serving as the agency’s principal operating officer. In March 2003, Mr. Maner was also asked to direct and manage the merger of the four component agencies of CBP, including U.S. Customs, U.S. Border Patrol, INS inspections and Agriculture & Quarantine Inspections. The merger involved a total of 42,000 personnel and budgets totaling ~$7.0 billion.
Before Joining U.S. Customs, Mr. Maner was Vice President for Development and Sales for ICG Commerce, an international supply chain services provider. During his tenure, Mr. Maner also founded and managed the company’s indirect channel practice, their leading vertical revenue producing division. He also co-managed private fundraising rounds that raised over $100 million from financial sources worldwide. Prior to ICG Commerce, Maner was a Principal at aligne, Inc., a technology consulting firm specializing in information technology, e-commerce initiatives and supply chain outsourcing.
Mr. Maner served in the administration of President George Bush in the White House Office of Advance and later as a Staff Assistant under Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater in the White House Press Office (1991-1993). Following the change in administration, he continued to work for former President Bush and Mrs. Bush, as Director of Press and Political Affairs in the former President’s office in Houston, Texas. During the U.S. aid effort in Somalia in 1993, Mr. Maner served as Special Assistant to the United Nations Envoy to Somalia in Mogadishu, where he helped manage operations and interactions between the thirty nations contributing troops and aid. He also assisted with political, economic/trade development and food aid efforts throughout the country.
Mr. Maner is a graduate of Purdue University (B.A.), where he currently serves as Chairman of the Dean’s Advisory Board. He received his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. In 2005, Mr. Maner was selected for the coveted Purdue University “Old Masters” award program and was chosen to receive the Distinguished Public Service Award from the United States Coast Guard in 2006. Maner is on the Board of Directors of the Armed Forces Foundation. In June 2010, Maner accepted the “Hottest Exit” award from the Northern Virginia Technology Council in recognition of NISC’s sale to IBM. Maner was also recently selected to the FED100 for 2010, an honor recognizes the Top 100 individuals for their accomplishments in the Federal Government/Contracting Community partnership. Maner lives in Washington D.C with his wife Julie and their 3 sons.

April 26: SPEAKERS ADDED to Meeting with Peggy Sherry, Chief Financial Officer, DHS

Join the Coalition to hear more about the DHS budget for 2012/13 with

Peggy Sherry
Acting Chief Financial Officer

Elizabeth Gelfer
Acting Budget Director, DHS

Morgan Geiger
Deputy Director
Program Analysis & Evaluation, DHS

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The Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) is responsible for the fiscal management, integrity and accountability of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The mission of the OCFO is to provide guidance and oversight of the Department’s budget, financial management, financial operations for all Departmental management and operations, the DHS Working Capital Fund, grants and assistance awards, and resource management systems to ensure that funds necessary to carry out the Department’s mission are obtained, allocated, and expended in accordance with the Department’s priorities and relevant law and policies.

Peggy Sherry is the Department of Homeland Security’s acting Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Sherry joined the Department in 2007 as the Director for OFM, and was responsible for developing department-wide financial management policy, leading the department’s financial
audits, and preparing department-wide financial reports. Ms. Sherry moved to Deputy CFO before accepting the role of acting CFO during the administrative transition. Prior to joining the Department, Ms. Sherry was the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for the United States
Holocaust Memorial Museum. Under her leadership, she oversaw the successful conversion to the Museum’s new financial management system and instituted processes to obtain seven unqualified audit opinions on the Museum’s financial statements. Ms. Sherry was an auditor with the Government Accountability Office for more than nine years and oversaw numerous financial audits, including leading segments of the financial statement audit of the U.S. government. Prior to her service in the public sector, she worked as a financial manager in the banking and construction industries.

Ms. Sherry has her Bachelors degree in Accounting from George Mason University and a
Masters in Accounting and Finance from the University of Maryland (UMUC). Ms. Sherry is a
Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Government Manager.

April 10: NEW SPEAKERS ADDED Roundtable with Chief Procurement Officer of DHS Nick Nayak and Kevin Boshears, Director, OSDBU, DHS

Join us to hear from two of the rockstars at DHS:

Nick Nayak
Chief Procurement Officer
DHS

Kevin Boshears
Director
Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization
DHS

Dr. Cedric Sims
Executive Director, Program Accountability & Risk Management

Mui Erkun
Ombudsman, DHS

Dan McLaughlin
Director

Mike Smith
Director, Strategic Sourcing

We will discuss the DHS’ strategic procurement plan and their plans for small business contracts for the remainder of FY 2012. This meeting will focus on interactive Q&A and providing input to the highest levels at DHS on how your companies are managing in this economy.

APRIL 10, 2012
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location TBA

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About Nick Nayak
Nick Nayak has over 24 years of senior private, public and academic leadership experience. He has been a dynamic figure in the field of federal acquisition – helping to professionalize the federal acquisition workforce; implement methods to obtain acquisition savings; and recruit the next generation of acquisition professionals.

Nick served as Deputy Director for IRS Procurement responsible for support to the United States tax collection system. In this capacity, he managed operational procurement enabling IRS to collect nearly $2.7 trillion annually, funding a significant portion of the federal government.

Prior to serving as Deputy Director, Nick served in several high-impact leadership positions, including Director, Strategic Acquisition Initiatives, Deputy Director, Office of Information Technology Acquisition, Assistant to Director, Information Technology Program Management Office, Project Executive for the IRS Commissioner’s Security Readiness Project and Director, Treasury Acquisition Institute (TAI).

Nick has served in virtually every acquisition workforce role in government including program manager, contracting officer, procurement analyst, contracting officer’s technical representative, technical evaluation chair, purchase card approving official and competition advocate, as well as, contracts administrator, cost estimator and proposal writer in the private sector.

Nick has a Ph.D. in Administration and Management, an M.S. in Management and a B.S. in Finance and Economics. He has served as an adjunct professor for several universities and taught over 45 undergraduate and graduate business courses.

About Kevin Boshears
Click for a full bio

January 25: Cyber Security Strategy Meeting

Join us for the first in a series of MEMBERS ONLY strategic sessions on the federal cyber security market — how Coalition members should view its opportunities and its challenges. This session will take a look at where cyber security funding is being directed and what kind of help Federal agencies will need to spend it wisely and to the best effect.
The session will also serve as a starting point for a broader thought leadership effort on how the public sector can become leaner and more effective through best practices in management and better use of qualified contractors.

Dr. Steven Bucci will lead this session with facilitation and subject matter expert support from Former DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner, Michelle Mrdeza and Kristina Tanasichuk. Other subject matter experts will be announced shortly. Registrants will receive a more detailed outline of the agenda, goals and requirements for the meeting in early January.

WHEN: January 25; 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
MEMBERS ONLY – REGISTER NOW

January 11: CEO to CEO Roundtable with DSCI, Inc.

Join us for “Coffee Talk” with Susan K. Hopkins, CEO & Founder, Dynamic Security Concepts, Inc. (DSCI)
REGISTER
10:00 am – 11:30 am | Battelle Memorial Institute
MEMBERS ONLY
Susan K. Hopkins founded Dynamic Security Concepts, Inc. (DSCI) in 1995 and has grown the company to over $10 million in revenue. DSCI is a woman-owned small business with offices in Arlington, VA, and southern New Jersey. Susan has forged strong partnerships with the Science & Technology (S&T) Directorate of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration. Her company’s expertise includes systems engineering, design, test, and deployment of security equipment including Explosives Detection Systems (EDS) to support DHS’s mission of securing and managing our nation’s critical infrastructures and borders. DSCI’s experienced, knowledgeable staff of systems and process engineers supports the full systems life cycle, from the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) laboratory to operational environments throughout the United States. DSCI has also demonstrated its systems engineering and human factors engineering capabilities by conducting testing, and developing related documentation, at the Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL) in New Jersey and the TSA Systems Integration Facility (TSIF) at Ronald Reagan National Airport, Washington, DC.
Susan is personally committed to the DHS mission as a first responder; she is a volunteer firefighter. Susan drives this passion and focus to her company, taking risks when needed to support innovation and technology evolution throughout DHS. Susan’s international experience includes global security consulting. She performed analyses and made recommendations about the cultural impacts of technology upon Western European, Middle Eastern, and Asian countries.
Susan holds a M.S. Software Engineering from Monmouth University, and a B.S Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland.

Susan also serves in the following federal, state, and local community organizations:

Board of Directors for Homeland Security & Defense Business Council (HSDBC)
· Board of Directors for the New Jersey Shore Council’s Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America
· Member of the Women in Homeland Security
· Mizpah NJ Atlantic County Volunteer Firefighter

Oct 28, 2011: Roundtable with U.S. Customs & Border Patrol

Keynote Sharie Bourbeau
Assistant Commissioner and Principal Executive for Program Development, CBP

Rountable Participants
Valerie Isbell
Executive Director, Passenger Systems Program Office
Linda Jacksta
Executive Director, Cargo Sytems Program Office
Colleen Manaher
Director, Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
Sara Schroerlucke
Director, Northern Border Division
Other Speakers TBA

Join us for this important roundtable to discuss the priorities and opportunities at U.S. Customs & Border Protection for small and mid-sized companies working in the homeland / security space and how partnership may ease some of the budgetary constraints faced by the Department.

This briefing will focus on CBP’s direction, the impact of the budget crisis and how partnership with small and mid-sized companies may help achieve CBP’s mission with greater value.

October 20 Former DHS IG Richard Skinner

Join us with a lively and incredibly insightful look at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, its challlenges and opportunities for your company through the eyes of its former Inspector General Richard Skinner.
October 20
10:00 am – 12:00pm
Register Now.

About Richard Skinner
Former Inspector General Skinner is an accomplished leader with more than 42 years of extensive experience in identifying vulnerabilities in government programs and operations and facilitating excellence in government by identifying needed performance and management improvements. He served as the first Senate confirmed Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and supervised audits, evaluations, investigations seeking to detect and prevent fraud, waste and abuse; promote economy, effectiveness and efficiency within DHS.

Prior to joining the DHS’ IG office, Skinner was Deputy Inspector General at the Federal Emergency Management Agency where he was also Assistant Inspector General for Audits from June 1991-1994. Prior to that he was a Senior Inspector at the U.S. Department of State.

Skinner has a S.C. from Fairmont State College and an MPA from George Washington University. He was presented with numerous awards including the DHS Distinguished Service Award, the AGA President’s Leadership Award, the President’s Meritorious honor Award and the both the Department of State and Department of Agriculture Meritorious Honor Awards.

November 9 Impact of Budget Cuts on Your Firm: What YOU Need to Know to Survive & Thrive

Join us for a detailed and interactive look at 1) current debt reduction initiatives; 2) what the debt reduction super committee is doing and how mandatory sequestration can impact government contractors; and 3) how contractors can prepare for budget-driven terminations and restructuring of their contracts.

Presented by: Elizabeth Ferrell | Partner | McKenna Long & Adlridge LLP
November 9, 2011
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location TBD

About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ferrell has more than 25 years of experience representing clients in every aspect of federal procurement. She counsels clients on a wide variety of issues including regulatory compliance, performance disputes, claims, data rights, funding, teaming agreements, cost accounting and audit issues, cost and pricing data issues and False Claims Act matters. Additionally, she has litigated a broad range of disputes including contract terminations, prime and subcontractor requests for equitable adjustments, bid protests, and prime and subcontractor disputes. Most recently, Ms. Ferrell chaired the national government contracts practice at another firm in the District. Prior to that, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Sol Blatt, Jr., United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Notable Engagements
Representing a major aerospace contractor in the Court of Federal Claims against the United States challenging a default termination. The litigation has encompassed an unprecedented array of complex issues including: pre-contract assessment of and allocation of contract risk; contract interpretation and waiver of contract requirements and specifications; incremental funding and exhaustion of funds; prime and subcontractor requests for equitable adjustments; prime and subcontractor loss adjustments; defense of government claims; response to an extensive two-year government audit of incurred costs; superior knowledge; state secrets privilege; alternative dispute resolution; and disposition of government property.
Counseled a major defense contractor after a major helicopter program was terminated for convenience. Representation included counseling on preparation and negotiation of a termination for convenience claim and development of a strategy for resolving
hundreds of subcontractor claims.
Successfully represented a communications company in Court of Federal Claims and Federal Circuit litigation in connection with breach of contract claims against the U.S. Government. These claims sought multi-million dollar damages for NASA’s decision, in the wake of the Challenger disaster, not to proceed with the scheduled launch of a commercial satellite. This was a landmark case that established that the government’s action in removing commercial satellites from the shuttle launch manifest was a breach of contract and a sovereign act.