George Schindler, president of CGI Federal
June 3rd, 2008 by Lisa Singh
As president of CGI Federal, George Schindler leads a team that leverages market-leading services and offerings into a managed services model in conjunction with federal government partners. The results speak for themselves; CGI is tracking to double digit growth for this fiscal year. But Schindler has even bigger plans for CGI Federal. In the following Q&A, Schindler talks about where he sees the company in five years, and what it needs to do to reach that point. He also weighs in on navigating the uncertainties associated with the natural cycles of government, especially during an election year.
Tell us about your role at CGI Federal?
George Schindler: I am the President.
How large is the business unit?
George Schindler: About 1,100 members. We refer to our employees as members because we are all considered to be owners of the business.
How is CGI Federal different from CGI overall as a company?
George Schindler: CGI is a Canadian company, based in Montreal. CGI Federal was created as a wholly owned U.S. operating subsidiary of CGI in order to allow the company to more effectively sell to the federal market and pursue work that requires security clearances. At the same time, our goal is to leverage the full depth and breadth of CGI solutions and capabilities globally.
What are some of your top priorities for the year?
George Schindler: To continue leveraging our market-leading services and offerings into a managed services model in conjunction with our federal government partners. Globally, CGI has had great success in delivering real benefits and efficiencies through this model. We offer a comprehensive set of services, which combined, improve agency outcomes. When you think of “managed services, think of the Federal Line of Business program, where the goal is for agencies and departments to get the synergies of a shared service model. This approach, where CGI runs the IT back office, allows government agencies to focus more on their core mission.
What are some hot trends you are tracking that will impact your customers as well as your business?
George Schindler: The foremost trend that you might imagine most federal contractors are tracking right now is the upcoming change in administration. This is the first national election since 1929 where an incumbent president or vice president is not running for office. With a change in administration, there will be inevitable changes in priorities and policy. No matter who is elected, we expect there will be more emphasis on domestic programs, particularly in the areas of the environment, health, energy and education. We are getting a head start on making sure our solutions are tuned to deliver efficiencies and results in these areas.
How important is buying companies as part of your growth strategy?
George Schindler: While growth is critical to us, and acquisitions are an important dimension of our growth strategy, for CGI it has to be the right company at the right time with the right fit — and the right price. We are always in the market looking for companies that can enhance what we bring to our customers and add additional scale to our operations. Another dimension to our growth is the organic side, and we are pleased to say that we are tracking to double digit growth for this fiscal year.
What advice would you give a small company wanting to partner or sub contract with CGI Federal?
George Schindler: That is a great question –and I am glad you asked it! Historically CGI, in the federal business, hasn’t been as open to partnerships, other than on a case-by-case basis. But we are changing that and are placing a greater emphasis on partnering with other companies, particularly small businesses. We have a small business program office where we are looking at strategic partners across domains and/or clients with whom we can really build strong relationships. I would urge any and all companies to approach CGI as a partner where a broader relationship could be beneficial to both our companies and our government clients.
What is your overall view of the M&A space?
George Schindler: It is surprisingly still very strong. Although many small and mid-size companies are disappearing as a part of the ongoing market consolidation, it is still a pretty fragmented market at all levels and we expect it to continue to be strong.
What is your biggest challenge today?
George Schindler: I would say the biggest challenge we have — similar to all companies in this space — is navigating the uncertainty associated with the natural cycles of government, especially during an election year. There are a number of federal contracting reforms that Congress is considering, and there is an uncertainty with agency budgets and programs that will not be played out until we have a new administration come in and set their policies and priorities.
How would you describe your leadership style?
George Schindler: My leadership style is “first among peers.” I try to model the behavior that I expect from my executive team. I am a very inclusive leader and I expect that style to be used throughout my organization.
What is something most people don’t know about CGI Federal?
George Schindler: While CGI is well known in the federal financial management space where we have some clients who have been with us for over 30 years, we also offer a broad range of services and capabilities outside of financial management. For example, our win at the EPA in their Office of Research and Development was in the area of systems engineering and specialized scientific support, not an area that historically CGI was known for. EPA awarded us that contract based on a very strong and long standing client relationship with EPA, as well as our ability to leverage our managed services capabilities.
Another thing that I don’t think people know about CGI Federal is that we are employing our federal version of what we call our “Global Delivery Model,” which includes “home shore” delivery centers, the first of which is in southwest Virginia. Our center there gives us the ability to deliver high-quality services at a lower cost while supporting the economic development in a region that has been historically economically depressed. The southwest Virginia delivery center also supports the mission of some of our clients around rural development.
What will your business unit look like in five years?
George Schindler: CGI’s federal business will be significantly larger in five years, because scale matters in this marketplace. We will continue to grow organically and possibly through acquisitions. At the same time, it’s important for us to remain innovative and nimble in order to react quickly to our clients’ needs. We will continue to deliver high-value services consistent with our core values as a company – embracing the objectives of our clients with unparalleled integrity, and a focus on synergy and the strength of teamwork in delivering excellent client service. At CGI, we like to say that we are in the business of satisfying clients. This has been our hallmark for over 30 years in the federal market and we expect to continue on this path.
What’s it like to work with Donna Morea?
George Schindler: Donna challenges each of us by setting a very high bar and provides all of the coaching, encouragement and insight to assist us in clearing those business hurdles; she is the best manager whom I have ever worked for.
What is your favorite restaurant?
George Schindler: Ruth’s Chris — I love the butter
What is your favorite business book?
George Schindler: The Next Level by Scott Eblin – Scott is my personal coach.
What is something most people don’t know about you personally?
George Schindler: After spending the first 20 years of my career working in and around the federal government marketplace, I took a bit of a detour and managed the CGI business unit in New York City responsible for our financial services solutions. After two and a half years in New York City, I was happy to move back to the DC area as the President of CGI Federal.
Interview with George Schindler conducted by Lisa Singh
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I work at CGI Federal and I believe that George has some good ideas and that we are on a fairly good track, however I believe that we should be looking to leverage technology and software development as part of our managed services model more than we are now. Even though we are “members” and we have a different corporate culture, I am not sure if people with ideas of how to improve our managed services offerings have a way to have their voice be heard. I am concerned in some ways that CGI’s business model does not focus on any cogent angle in particular other than a milquetoast sort of middle ground that revolves around acquisitions and near-sourcing which I believe is not what it is painted up to be. I do hope however to be able to engage our management on these topics and to be able to help George and CGI Federal succeed and for one can say that I am committed to doing that. As a company there are many more people just like me and that is why we are successful.