February 26, 2008
6:00 am – 4:30 pm Conference Registration
6:30 am – 7:30 am Continental Breakfast
7:30 am – 8:30 am Welcome & Keynote Speaker
Toby Eckhardt
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer, Focused Image
What really is a brand? What’s the value in having a brand and how do you develop and grow your brand? In the world of consumer marketing brands, have never been bigger, but how about B2B or B2G? Toby Eckhardt will present an overview of the latest thinking in branding and how it can help you differentiate yourself and grow your business.
8:30 am – 9:00 am Networking Break and Solutions Showcase
9:00 am – 10:15 am Capturing Breakout Sessions
Business Strategy - Plan It, Perform It and Prof-it
This breakout session examines the differences in small businesses that perform strategically vs. opportunistically, and how not developing and adhering to a strategic direction may affect your choices and long term growth. Although many small businesses may start out with only one goal -- 'growth' --and eventually develop operations and strategies, this session will reveal the importance of developing a strategic direction, driving tactics and operations from the outset, as well as address the challenges small businesses face in translating their companies' vision into action with measurable results.
Session Moderator: Adelaide O’Brien, Research Manager, Government Insights
Session Speakers
Gwen Johnson, Director, Small Business Office, EDS
Anthony Moore, President and Chief Information Officer, Strategic Applications & Technologies
Brian K. Petitt, President and Chief Operating Officer, Dynamic Technology Systems
Nancy Sternberg, Business Gateway Program Manager, Small Business Administration
Ellen M. Thrasher, Associate Administrator, Office of Business and Community Initiative, Small Business Administration
Executing the Capture Strategy - Lessons Learned from the Trenches
Time and financial resources are limited resources for small businesses preparing and positioning their organization for new business opportunities. Therefore, evaluating and choosing which business opportunity to pursue is a very important factor for a small businesses growth. This breakout session will discuss qualities your small business must possess to overcome the requirements, pains or issues you are facing when working with the government. Through four facilitated workshops, government and industry will discuss potential challenges related to the execution of a small businesses capture strategy.
Session Moderator: Kathy Minchew, President, Federal Insights
Lessons Learned Prior to the RFP Release Experts
Alice Roache, Small Business Specialist, Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Department of Health and Human Services
Dave Yockman, Principal, Edgewater Federal Solutions
Lessons Learned After the RFP Release Experts
John Gracza, Sr. Vice President and Co-Owner, Federal Working Group
Tiffany T. Hixson, Executive Director, Secure Border Initiative Acquisition Office, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security
10:15 am -10:30 am Networking Break and Solutions Showcase
10:30 am – 11:45 am Performing Breakout Sessions
Winning the War for Talent - Having the Right People at the Right Place at the Right Time
How will your business select, nurture and grow your most important asset -- your employees? This breakout session will address strategic issues facing small businesses in the public sector marketplace. Through four topical groups: mentoring, professional development, lessons learned in hiring and executive leadership, you will discover if your company has what it takes to win the war for talent. Toward the end of the session, the separate groups will come together and discuss what you need to know to have the right people in the right place at the right time
Executive Leadership Experts
William Hoover, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Systems
Rose Wang, President and Chief Executive Officer, Binary Group
Lessons Learned in Hiring Experts
Alba Aleman, President, Citizant
Lee Harvey, Deputy Program Executive Officer, Enterprise Information Systems, Department of the Army
Mentoring Experts
Sid Jaffe, Chief Executive Officer, Advantage Consulting
Tracy Pinson, Director, Office of Small Business Programs, Department of the Army
Professional Development Experts
Wil Berrios, Chief Information Officer, US Army Corps of Engineers
Karen Pica, Director, Federal Acquisition Institute, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget
Metrics - Understanding, Establishing and Aligning the Measures of Success
Dashboards and scorecards can be captivating to businesses and government, however, they are merely tools designed to visually measure and represent progress towards critical business or project goals and objectives. In today’s federal contracting environment, metrics are ever-present. You get what you measure. So what are you measuring? What should you be measuring? What are the most effective measurements? This breakout session, is designed to explore the thinking behind the numbers and explore the establishment of strategic, tactical and operational metrics that focus on your relationship with your government clients, your understanding of their individual needs, and the keys to ensuring mutual success.
Session Moderator: Timothy S. K. Liu, Executive Vice President, Synergy 3
Session Speakers
Lattia Baker, Contracting Officer, Office of Procurement Operations, Information Technology Acquisition Center, Department of Homeland Security
Cherie Smith, Project Director, General Fund Enterprise Business System, Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems, Department of the Army
Mauricio P. Vera, Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Agency for International Development
Etta Waugh, Senior Acquisition Specialist, Acquisition Solutions
11:45 am – 12:00 pm Networking Break and Solutions Showcase
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch with Leaders
The lunch with leader’s session will provide an intimate setting for frank and candid conversations. Through the entire lunch session conference attendees will have the opportunity to discuss small business issues with a pre-selected government executive.
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Networking Break and Solutions Showcase
2:00 pm – 3:15 pm Going Beyond Breakout Sessions
Growth Through Graduation - Gaining and Maintaining Momentum
Small businesses come in many sizes, less than $1.5 M, under $6M, under $23M or less than 1,500 employees. When growing through various sizes, each phase offers small businesses a separate and unique challenge. This breakout session will focus on lessons learned through these growth thresholds and provide guidance on what it takes to gain and maintain momentum during the growth process. Preparing for what lies beyond can be challenging for any size company, especially small businesses. Regardless of your company’s revenue level or staff size, there are plenty of growth challenges this session can help you resolve!
Session Moderator: Teresa Bozzelli, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, Government Insights
Session Speakers
Adnan Ahmed, Chief Strategy Officer, CNSI
Arthur E. Collins Jr., Director, Government Contracting, Small Business Administration
Joanna Hugney, Director, Information Technology Strategy Consulting Division, Project Performance Corporation
Mike Mullen, Vice President, Homeland Security & Citizen Services Business Unit,INDUS Corporation
Return on Networking Investment - It’s not Working Harder, It’s People Working Smarter
Networking is a critical function in a successful business, and small businesses must carefully select their networking opportunities to maximize their returns. This breakout session will discuss the importance of networking and how to use this tool to grow and sustain business as well as provide insights on using your networking tool successfully. You will form and learn how to properly use the often misunderstood elevator pitch, learn to strategically select networking events and maintain important contacts, as well as have the opportunity to interact and practice your networking skills to enhance your presence during future events.
Session Moderator: Emmett Anderson, Small Disadvantage Business Executive, Nortel Government Solutions
Session Speakers
Scott Denniston, Director, Office of Small Business and Center for Veterans Enterprise, Department of Veterans Affairs
James Dunn, Vice President, Consulting Services, Red Team Consulting
Sandy Levine, President, Advice Unlimited
3:15 pm – 3:30 pm Networking Break and Solutions Showcase
3:30 pm – 4:45 pm Speaker and Conference Close
Linda Cureton, Chief Information Officer, Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
4:45 pm – 7:00pm Networking Reception