Xerox has finalized the acquisition of ACS, creating a $22 billion dollar global leader for document management and business process.

According to a Xerox press release, Ursula Burns, the Xerox CEO, said, “With ACS, we take another step forward, expanding our leadership to include business process outsourcing that helps simplify document-driven work.”

Furthermore, she stated, “The new Xerox provides the technology and services to help our customers reach new levels of efficiency and effectiveness, giving them the freedom to focus on what matters most: their real business.”

Lynn Blodgett, the president and CEO of ACS, also had positive comments regarding the acquisition. “Xerox’s brand recognition, global, presence, and superior innovation give us a powerful competitive position and offers our customers a trusted partner they can rely upon for the back office support that makes their front offices successful.”

Blodgett will now report to Burns, and ACS will start off being branded as ACS, A Xerox Company. Xerox has an incredible opportunity for growth with this acquisition and together the two companies will move forward together with combined services, innovation, and technology.

David Bender is the President of Blake Real Estate. He is also the Chair of the 2010 Greater Washington Region Heart Ball. This is the 12^th year of the DC Heart Ball and we had the opportunity to talk to Bender about why this cause is so important. He shared with us some of the highlights of this upcoming ball, which is just around the corner on Saturday, February 27^th, 2010.

ExecutiveBiz: Tell us a little about what prompted you and the Bender Foundation, Inc./ The Bender Family to chair the American Heart Association Ball.

Bender: There are so many reasons to support the American Heart Association. We have been involved with the American Heart Association for more than 25 years and believe passionately in their mission of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.  When you consider that heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the nation, with stroke not far behind at No. 3, the AHA mission takes on a significance that is at once personal and universal.  These diseases affect everyone – men, women and children.

With a family history of heart disease, our involvement is deeply personal.

ExecutiveBiz: Why is this cause so important?

Bender: The fact is that heart disease kills more people annually than the next five causes of death combined – and this is a shocking statistic to many. The key is to raise awareness that while 1 in 30 women will die of breast cancer, almost one in three will die from a cardiovascular disease. We need to help our community to understand the importance of prevention and living a healthy lifestyle.

Another significant benefit that supports this community is when the American Heart Association funds research, it brings jobs here.  When research is funded, more people are employed and incredible advances in science are made. Some examples of breakthroughs brought about by research funded by American Heart Association include: Artificial Valves, CPR, Clot-Busting Drugs, Pacemakers, Angioplasty, Bypass Surgery, Medicines to Control High Blood Pressure and Cholesterol. It has also led to important discoveries like the link between smoking and heart disease and to food labeling guidelines.

The funds also go towards local community outreach efforts to educate the public about heart disease, stroke and the effects of childhood obesity. For example, the American Heart Association works with many local organizations to provide fitness programs for children of communities in need. The District has some of the worst levels of childhood obesity, so funds from the Heart Ball have been directed to address this specific local issue.

ExecutiveBiz: Tell us what other area executives can do to help.

Bender: Because we believe so fully in the mission of the American Heart Association, our family donated $1 million to the cause and are asking the community to match our donation.  Our goal is to raise $2 million for the Greater Washington Region American Heart Association through the Heart Ball. Without the money raised by this event, life saving research will go unfunded and lives will be lost.

On behalf of the American Heart Association, I am calling on my fellow business and community leaders and everyone out there to support the Heart Ball by partnering with us and by attending the event. The Heart Ball provides many wonderful opportunities for businesses to positively impact the lives of many in our community as well as their own employees.

Three generations of Benders will proudly lead the 2010 Heart Ball and we invite the entire Greater Washington region to carry the torch with us. Funds raised by the Heart Ball go towards lifesaving cardiovascular research as well as community outreach and education programs

ExecutiveBiz: Please share some of the highlights of the upcoming ball.

Bender: The DC Heart Ball is now in its 12th year.  It is on February 27 – at the end of American Heart Month. This year’s event is lead by my family, the Howard and Sondra Bender Family.  Three generations of the Bender family are serving as this year’s Chairs.

The Heart Ball is an elegant, black-tie celebration of life bringing together more than 500 of Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia’s most prominent corporate, philanthropists, health care and community leaders for an inspirational evening of dinner, dancing, live entertainment and live and silent auctions.  We honor survivors of heart disease and stroke and hear their stories first hand.  Heart disease and strokes do not discriminate. Children, teenagers, men and women will share their inspirational stories of survival and recovery.  We will also be honoring members of the Military – specifically Military doctors who have helped to save the lives of our men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There is wonderful food, dancing, phenomenal live and silent auctions with wonderful items to bid on. We have trips to St. Thomas, France, Hawaii, Dinner for 10 in your home prepared by Chef Eric Zeibold of City Zen, a beautiful, exclusively designed Trail of the Painted Ponies sculpture, and so much more.  There is something for everyone, a grand evening in honor of the men and women who serve in our armed forces, survivors, doctors and supporters of the American Heart Association.

The Heart Ball truly is the premier social event that salutes of American Heart Association’s impact on our community.  The Ball will be held at the Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, VA. More information can be found on the website www.dcheartball.com

ExecutiveBiz: As chair, what would you like to see happen in order for you to consider the event a success?

Bender: The success of this event is urgent.  As we’ve mentioned before, we have many lives being lost to heart disease and stroke. It is incumbent upon us as leaders in this community to really help the people right here in the Greater Washington Region live longer, stronger lives free from heart disease and stroke.  This event will be a success when at the end of the day, life-saving research and discoveries are not turned away due to lack of available funding and more people affected by heart disease and stroke survive to live another day with their friends and families.

Author, journalist, filmmaker and Senator Jim Webb spoke at a breakfast event for around 175 executive members of the Potomac Officers Club today.  He spoke about his frustration with the White House’s efforts to reform America’s healthcare system, but tempered his criticism with praise for the goals of healthcare reform and defended his vote in favor of healthcare legislation.

Some of Senator Webb’s concerns include the civilian trials of terrorists (”self-avowed enemy combatants”), the continuing concentration of political power in the Executive Branch (”This is not a Bush Administration-specific problem…”), and neglected ties with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), an issue Webb takes personal interest in from his extensive travel and service in Southeast Asia.

Here’s GovConWire’s twittercast coverage of the event:

• Sen. Webb and the poc breakfast give a special thanks to Deltek
• Sen. Webb: “as a contractor you have to get out and hustle.”
• Sen. Webb: “both parties have different philosophies, but we need more than ever to come together.”
• Sen. Webb: “I’m concerned about the concentration of power in the exec. Branch.”
• Sen. Webb: “infrastructure would have been better target for obama admin rather than healthcare.”
• Webb on Obama healthcare push: “we lost a year…People got scared.”
• Webb: “We will protect Navy force structure”
• Webb: “n.y. terror trial doesn’t pass logic test”
• Webb: “I’m just not a fan of cap and trade, Best case would cut emissions 3%”
• Webb: “I’m very comfortable with nuclear power it’s clean”
• Webb: “we need to strengthen ties with ASEAN nations…we’re ignoring this region.”
• Webb: “that’s kind of what I’ve been up to this week.”
• Webb on healthcare “If you’re 50.1% in favor of something, you pull the lever and you live with it”

We had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Dennis Kelly, the President and CEO of A-T Solutions. We spoke to him about insourcing, deconflicting, and IT spending. We also learned what emerging markets A-T Solutions is focusing on. Watch the video below to learn his thoughts on what government contracting will look like ten years from now.

ExecutiveBiz: What sectors are going to be hit hardest by insourcing? Why?

Dennis Kelly: There are sectors that are considered more commodity type of services that the government can easily insource that type of skill set will probably be the hardest hit.  I think those skill sets that are harder to find, not as elastic if you will are going to be the kinds of things that are going to continue to be contracted out.

ExecutiveBiz: Deconflicting is going to produce winners and losers.  Who will be the winners and who will be the losers?

Dennis Kelly: I think the winners are going to be those companies that can really provide unique solutions to the problems that the government has, or the clients have.  I think those are the companies that the government is looking to partner with.  I think the days of just kind of showing up and providing a service is probably going to start to wane a bit as the government really focuses on where the value add is.

ExecutiveBiz: As a new decade dawns how will government contracting look ten years from now?

Dennis Kelly: I’m of the opinion that government is going to still require a fair amount of outsourcing; again those skill sets that are harder to find, those companies that are solving truly complex issues for the government and those companies that are really willing to partner with the government.  I envision an environment ten years from now that hopefully is more partnership oriented and more collaborative in nature.  I think we have gone through an era where we’ve had a dramatic rise in outsourcing and what not and with that comes some complexities associated with numbers of contractors at the table and what not.  I think as the government really looks for true partnerships I think in the next ten years we’re going to see that kind of define the landscape.

ExecutiveBiz: What emerging markets will you be pursuing in the next decade?

Dennis Kelly: Our company is focused on the counter terrorism and intelligence market so we are pretty fairly focused on those segments of the government marketplace where we can provide solutions to help save lives is what we are all about.  Those are the places where we are going to be spending our efforts.

ExecutiveBiz: Which applications and markets will lead IT spending in the new decade?

Dennis Kelly: I think cyber security is a big area that is going to continue to see a great deal of spending and focus on that part of the government.  I think it is a huge vulnerability that our government is concerned about and companies that come to the table with really robust services and really solve problems is an area to watch.

Bob Dunn is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Ericsson Federal. We had the chance to chat with him about what emerging trends he sees for Ericsson Federal in 2010 and how they will continue to be a leader in mobile broadband solutions. We also learned about Dunn’s favorite part of his job, as well as some of his favorite things to do with his two sons, Bobby and Jack.

ExecutiveBiz: Tell us about your role at Ericsson Federal (EFI) and how you got to where you are.

Dunn: I lead EFI’s business development team in its work with government agencies. We leverage the world-class broadband solutions of Ericsson, our parent company, to address the government’s mission and enterprise communications requirements.

My history in the communications industry started about 24 years ago with a company up in New York called NYNEX, one of the Bell operating companies. I then went between Northern Telecom (Nortel) and Bell Atlantic a couple of times, focused on communications, before I returned to Nortel, joining Nortel Government Solutions. My last job there was president of the product solutions group, which focused on voice over IP transitions, broadband technologies and wireless technologies. I also spent about a year at a start up.

I came to Ericsson Federal after I had the opportunity to meet Doug Smith, EFI’s president and CEO, and discuss his vision and the opportunities at the company. I felt Doug’s vision and strategy was exactly what the government marketplace needed, and I believed that I could make an impact. So I joined EFI in October 2008 as senior vice president of business development.

“EFI will be a leader by staying ahead of the technology curve and helping our customers do the same” – Bob Dunn

Obama’s budget puts an stop to efforts to send an American back to the moon, on the seventh anniversary of the Columbia space shuttle disaster, opens the door to a furious fight in Congress over America’s ambitions in space.  Congressmen from Florida, Texas, and Alabama, states that have already lost thousands of NASA jobs thanks to this year’s planned retirement of the space shuttle fleet, plan to fight tooth and nail to keep the moon shot program, Constellation, alive.

Bill Nelson, a Democratic Senator for Florida and former astronaut who flew on a space shuttle in 1986, commented “They are replacing lost shuttle jobs too slowly, risking US leadership in space to China and Russia, and relying too heavily on unproven companies.”

Michael Griffin, the former NASA chief who resigned when Obama took office, called the budget “disastrous”, and drew the comparison to Nixon’s cancellation of the Apollo programme in the 1970s.  He told The Washington Post, “It means that essentially the US has decided that they’re not going to be a significant player in human space flight for the foreseeable future.”

He added that, while he supported moves to invest in commercial cargo flights to space, he doesn’t think that commercial firms, such as SpaceX and Dulles-based Orbital Sciences, are ready to take over the risky and difficult job of ferrying human beings to orbit yet. “It’s like 1920. Lindbergh hasn’t flown the Atlantic, and they’re trying to sell 747s to Pan Am.”

NASA has already spent more than $9bn on Constellation, including testing the Ares I rocket designed to replace the Space Shuttle for transport and supply missions to the international space station and beyond. Obama’s budget report characterized the program as “based largely on existing technologies, over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation.”

Charles Bolden, NASA’s new administrator, said “The truth is that we were not on a path to get back to the moon’s surface.  There will be challenges as a result of cancelling Constellation, [but] the funding for Nasa is increasing, so we expect to support as many if not more jobs.” The budget gives Nasa $19bn for 2011, and $100bn over the next five years; the proposal also extends the international space station until 2020, but time will tell if it is enough to maintain America’s leading role in space exploration.

We recently sat down with former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore and discussed his role in making Virginia America’s most business-friendly state.  He discussed what it’s like to transition from the governor’s mansion and the campaign trail back to private industry, and gave Governor Bob McDonnell some advice on how to maintain Virginia’s pro-business legacy and keep Virginia abreast of new and emerging technologies.

ExecutiveBiz:  As a former Governor you played a major role in making Virginia one of the most business friendly states in the union.  What should government do to encourage growth in the private sector?

Jim Gilmore:  This is a very critical moment in the history of the nation and in the state of Virginia because of the enormous recession that we’ve had.  An emphasis really has to be place right now on rebuilding the economy and allowing the economy to transform itself into something that is even more efficient.  The emphasis today has to be on job creation and that means that you’ve got to get out there and really find ways to nurture the business community and to allow it to prosper so that in fact we will have a reason to create jobs.  That’s a different philosophy from a stimulus type of a package where you throw money out into the community and hope that somehow that means economic growth.  It probably doesn’t and instead what we need to do is to find much more effective ways to allow businesses to grow and the economy to grow and that will create jobs.  Yes, in my Administration we worked very hard to bring new employers to Virginia and new programs to Virginia so that we would nurture job creation.  We also found ways to offer tax incentives and other opportunities.  The result of all of that effort was we built a record number of jobs in Virginia during my Administration – over 200,000 new jobs.’

I think that was long as you are offering a good business approach that is good for the business community and at the same time offers effective protections and services to the taxpayer, I think it’s appropriate and then the programs will stand on their own feet. -Jim Gilmore