Position: President and chief operating officer, ManTech International Corp., a Fairfax technology company providing national security programs for the intelligence community and the Defense, State, Justice and Homeland Security departments.
Career highlights: President, information systems and technology, ManTech International; chief executive, president and founder, Integrated Data Systems; chief engineer, Science Applications International Corp.; systems analyst, crisis management center, White House National Security Council; and software engineer, Raytheon Co.
Age: 45
Education: BS, business computer information systems, Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
Personal: Lives in Clifton with wife, Laura, and their children, Matthew, 13, and Michael, 8.
How did you get where you are?
After leaving the White House, I was fortunate to work at SAIC, which is where I really got broad exposure to all aspects of the business. SAIC has a great culture and a wonderful entrepreneurial environment. It was that experience that gave me the skills and desire to go out on my own and form Integrated Data Systems. I started as a consultant, and as my business grew I began to hire more and more people. IDS grew to over $45 million in revenue in a period of 12 years. Our focus was on software engineering, enterprise architecture and security engineering within the intelligence community.
We were not looking to sell the company, but we were approached by ManTech in 2003. They had a great story to tell, and they wanted to transform their company and focus on providing high-end services within the intelligence community. What impressed us about ManTech was that they had developed a strategic plan in the year 2000 that was a road map for the future, and they were methodically executing the plan. We saw that as a tremendous opportunity for our people to achieve their career goals faster than we could at IDS, and grow as part of a larger company.
When IDS was being acquired by ManTech, there was naturally some concern from the employees on joining a larger company. Change is always of concern to people, and leading IDS through that change and becoming a successful part of ManTech was a challenge to overcome. Communication was a key element of overcoming that issue. . . .
I'm motivated by working with talented people, developing successful solutions for our customers and winning new business as a result of that. For me personally, having a good solid technical background has been very helpful. Also, being able to recognize and hire talented individuals and, as we got larger, developing the right leadership skills. This is a people-intensive business, and it's always challenging to get people to work together and get them focused on a common goal and objective. The customers we work for have an extremely critical and important mission. National security concerns don't necessarily go away at 5 o'clock.
Throughout IDS's history, there were times when we would occasionally lose our focus and realize that we were out of sync with our core capabilities. We basically chased after business that was appealing, but not necessarily in our sweet spot. Recognizing that we were out of sync and getting the company on track was a lesson learned.
-- Judith Mbuya
