EM’s Weekly Roundup: Leidos Acquires L3Harris’ Security Division; Wash100 Voting Ends June 1st; Executive Spotlight with Zscaler’s Stephen Kovac

Leidos Completes $1B Purchase of L3Harris’ Security Detection, Automation Businesses; Roger Krone Quoted

Leidos has finalized its acquisition of L3Harris Technologies’ security detection and automation businesses for approximately $1 billion in cash, Leidos said Monday. The company also announced that Jim Moos, president of Leidos’ civil group, will oversee the acquired businesses.

“In line with our mission of making the world safer, healthier and more efficient, this security detection and automation acquisition furthers our important work in the secure movement of people and commerce globally,” said Roger Krone, chairman and CEO of Leidos and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient.

The acquisition will expand Leidos’ product portfolio in the global security and detection market and broaden customer penetration into 75 additional countries as well as leverage biometrics capabilities, core technical strengths and global sales channels to accelerate the development and delivery of new platforms.

“We are excited to support critical infrastructure wherever it is needed, and to help transform the global security marketplace,” Krone added.

James Geurts: Navy Releases $600M in Withheld Defense Contractor Payments

James Geurts, acquisition chief at the U.S. Navy and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said the service branch has provided defense contractors $600 million in payments from previously awarded contracts that were put on hold to ensure performance, Reuters reported Tuesday.

During a conference call on Tuesday, Geurts said the Navy anticipates the funds will help defense suppliers stay afloat as they encounter financial difficulties amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Geurts noted in early April that he had authorized “hundreds of millions” of payments to major contractors like Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and General Dynamics. Representatives from HII and General Dynamics said the Navy was not withholding payments from them due to poor contract performance.

Guidehouse CEO Scott McIntyre Remains in First Place; Juliane Gallina, Teresa Carlson, Robert Sharp Move Up; Wash100 Voting Ending June 1st.

After climbing over 20 spots and securing first place last week, Guidehouse CEO Scott McIntyre holds his position as the June 1st deadline quickly approaches. Over 12,000 votes have been cast and they continue to flood in during the most competitive race to the top of the Wash100 Rankings in the sixth year history of the award.

Gina Haspel, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), remains in second place and trails McIntyre by only one vote. Stacey Dixon, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) deputy director, is holding her spot in third place. While the top three executives have held their positions, these leaders rely on your vote to secure their standing.

Elsewhere in the rankings, Juliane Gallina, CIO of the CIA, and Teresa Carlson, vice president of Amazon Web Services’ public sector business, both were able to move up in the rankings to seventh and ninth place, respectively

NGA Director VADM Richard Sharp made the biggest jump of the week to 16th place after sitting in 19th last week. VADM Sharp’s drastic increase shows how much your vote matters. Do not miss the chance to support your favorite executive.

The competition at the top of the Wash100 rankings is reaching its boiling point as June 1st approaches. With many GovCon executives holding onto their spots by a small number of votes, your vote is crucial. We need your votes to determine who will be named the most significant executive of consequence to the government contracting (GovCon) sector for the rest of 2020.

Click here to cast your votes before June 1st.

Here are the updated rankings for the top 20 executives in the 2020 Wash100 Popular Vote:

Raytheon Technologies Partners with Red Hat, VMware to Secure $957M Cyber TRIDENT Training Competition; Bob Williams Quoted

Raytheon Intelligence and Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, has partnered with commercial technology companies Red Hat and VMware to secure a $957 million contract under Cyber Training, Readiness, Integration, Delivery and Enterprise Technology (TRIDENT), the company reported on Wednesday.

“Raytheon’s Cyber TRIDENT team is challenging the status quo for how software is developed and delivered to military training systems,” said Bob Williams, vice president of Global Training Solutions at Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies company.

The contract has a projected award date in early 2021. Under Cyber TRIDENT, a critical training platform for the U.S. Military’s Cyber Mission Force, Raytheon Intelligence and Space will utilize its best practices and automation tools from the commercial sector and will include small businesses and other innovative companies.

“The speed of change in cyber warfare dictates rapid and continuous delivery of new training, which Raytheon will accomplish with techniques such as DevOps,” added Williams.

Mark Esper Eyes Phased Approach to Reopening Pentagon

Mark Esper, defense secretary and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said the Department of Defense (DoD) will facilitate a phased reopening of government operations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, he reported on Monday.

Esper stated that the DoD’s chief management officer “has been developing plans” to reopen the Pentagon and that the department has to adapt to the “new normal” in the coming months.

The DoD received $11 billion in funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and will continue to develop a reimbursement system for contractors.

Esper’s comments were echoed by fellow 2020 Wash100 Award winners Gen. David Goldfein, the U.S. Air Force chief of staff, and U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy who called for adjustments to government protocols and procedures.

Julie Dunne Announces GSA’s Federal Marketplace Strategy Spring 2020 Release

Julie Dunne, commissioner of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), noted that the GSA has provided an overview of the agency’s information technology modernization efforts and COVID-19 response initiatives through its Federal Marketplace Strategy Spring 2020 Release.

Dunne stated Tuesday that the release has offered information on project improvements that the GSA has implemented, including the development of buying guides and tools to help agencies procure the products and services they need during the coronavirus pandemic.

Those procurement guides cover telework and IT, cleaning products and services and building screening services areas.

Dunne will serve as a keynote speaker during Potomac Officers Club’s (POC) 2020 Procurement Virtual Forum on Tuesday, June 9th. In addition, Soraya Correa, chief procurement officer of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will also serve as a keynote speaker at the virtual event.

During their addresses, Correa and Dunne will discuss the short term and long term strategies, acquisition innovation initiatives, commercial items acquisition, workforce initiatives, technology modernization and collaboration between the federal government and industry.

Register here for Potomac Officers Club’s 2020 Procurement Virtual Forum on June 9th.

Executive Spotlight: Stephen Kovac, VP of Global Government, Head of Corporate Compliance at Zscaler

Stephen Kovac, vice president of global government and head of corporate compliance at Zscaler, spoke to ExecutiveBiz regarding the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) recently released Trusted Internet Connection 3.0 Interim Telework Guidance (TIC 3.0) and how it will assist with the public sector’s remote work.

During the interview, Kovac was adamant about how important the OMB and DHS’ work is to the future for federal agencies and industry.

“I praise the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the TIC 3.0 Interim Telework Guidance. This was a very smart and well-timed move. It shows that they’re engaged and understand the critical, pressing Federal agency and industry problems.”

Click here to read the full Executive Spotlight interview with Stephen Kovac.