Interview with Dan Johnson, President of General Dynamics Information Technology

Since his days at the U.S. Naval Academy, Dan Johnson has focused on solving problems and enhancing operations for DoD and civilian agencies. That focus has only grown with each and every successive role. In April, Johnson became president of General Dynamics Information Technology (IT), a tier-one government contracting company that supports clients across the spectrum, from defense to intelligence. In the following Q&A, Johnson talks about his goals for the year, where the greatest opportunities for growth reside, and what it takes to be successful in today’s government contracting space.

Tell us about your new role at General Dynamics Information Technology (IT) and what does that mean to the company?

Dan Johnson: As the President of General Dynamics Information Technology, I am leading a talented and dedicated team of professionals, continuing the company’s unwavering commitment to supporting our defense, intelligence and civilian agency, and commercial customers. We have grown significantly during the last few years and continue to add depth and breadth to our solutions. We have recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ViPS a healthcare IT company and through other acquisitions including Anteon, General Dynamics IT leverages more than 15,000 professionals who have the experience and expertise to provide fully integrated capabilities to support mission-critical government and commercial programs across the globe. As we move forward, we will continue to combine innovation with proven best practices to deliver value and results to our customers. As a tier-one IT and professional services organization with substantial growth opportunities we are very excited about the future.

Prior to assuming the role of president earlier this year, I served as the senior deputy to former General Dynamics IT President Mike Chandler. Mike and I worked together optimizing internal operations and focusing on service excellence. For the last 18 months, we collaborated with sister General Dynamics business units and worked within our own business unit to establish a strategy geared toward success alongside the largest IT and professional service providers in our market.

During this transition period, I also spent significant time with our customers as well as our operational division leaders and their respective program teams – the individuals that work shoulder-to-shoulder with our clients. I had an opportunity to work closely with each division within General Dynamics IT and the people that work tirelessly for our customers.

What are your top goals this year?

Dan Johnson: We are continuing to expand our support to customers in the civilian agencies, particularly homeland security, and in the intelligence world as well; we believe that some of our largest growth opportunities are in these areas. We have made and are making investments in these areas, identifying new opportunities and focusing on continuing our upward growth track. For example, the FBI recently awarded us an $83 million contract to provide IT management services at its headquarters and field offices.

Importantly, we also continue to maintain and expand opportunities with our core Intel, DoD, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Army customers. We plan to continue our growth in these areas as well. The strategy is to continue focusing on our strengths providing IT, systems engineering and professional services to our customers – and grow into new territories within our core and traditional business areas.

What are some of the trends you are tracking that will impact your customers?

Dan Johnson: Despite the change being predicted as a result of the upcoming Presidential election and new administration, there will not be a major impact on federal IT budgets relevant to our business growth until 2011. We do believe there will be a significant requirement for federal program “reset” that will emerge and continue to expand. Today, we see the DoD is focused on the military tasks at hand and not addressing many of its requirements for product and systems upgrades due to resource constraints. As U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan begin to wind down, the military will re-focus on upgrading specific systems and capabilities. We are well positioned to support present day and future DoD military operations and reset, as well as federal agency efforts to enhance homeland security.

How important is acquisition to the IT services industry growth strategy?

Dan Johnson: It is important today and will become even more important as the federal market continues to consolidate. Companies in this market are continuously looking for opportunities that will bring them into new markets, expand existing expertise in targeted areas and provide a new solution set that will further differentiate and allow for the pursuit of new opportunities.

A critical part of the success of an acquisition is culture; how would you describe the culture at General Dynamics IT today?

Dan Johnson: We have a customer-focused culture and we are organized to support specific customer requirements. We have set up customer facing divisions that are organized to specifically serve the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, homeland security, civilian agencies, intelligence and commercial wireless and public safety customers. We are organized this way because we work in a relationship business. You must have direct hands-on experience with your customers’ operations and understand their specific requirements. We support a culture that demonstrates our experience and the value we contribute to our customer every day, performing at a high level and maintaining integrity and trustworthiness at all times. These tenets are central to our organization and are the foundation for our long-term success.

What advice would you give to a CEO of a small business wanting to partner with General Dynamics IT?

Dan Johnson: Our organization is built to support the requirements of our customers. To help our customers achieve their goals we have invested in and built a “best-in-class” small business office at General Dynamics IT. We have a team that is serious about mentoring and developing relationships with small businesses that include veteran and minority-owned companies. Our line guys, or program team, have a very high regard for the skills and value that our small business partners provide. We rely on our small business office to have an extensive knowledge of potential partners and to maintain a comprehensive catalogue of key small business organizations and their skills. When a customer has a specific need, our program teams work with our small business office to find the best partners for specific customer requirements.

How has your Navy career helped your career today?

Dan Johnson: In many ways, I feel like I never left military service. When I got out of the Navy in 1975, I joined services companies that supported the Army, Air Force and Navy IT programs. Although no longer enlisted, I was focusing on the business side of the military departments and addressing the challenges they faced when fielding systems and support units. I think that both my Naval and business experiences have provided me with important perspectives and a broad background that has served me well in the federal space.

What do you think it takes to be successful in today’s government contracting sector?

Dan Johnson: The key is to have a positive, can-do attitude and maintain a results-oriented mindset in everything you do. You can’t get thwarted by roadblocks to accomplishing the task at hand effectively and efficiently. You have to work systematically within the parameters of a situation and determine how you can move forward and accomplish your goals.

It is also important to remain mindful of the challenges that government employees face, the importance of their jobs and the commitments that they make to safeguard and strengthen our great country. Sometimes people get caught up in daily activities and momentarily lose sight of the important services that our government employees provide or the sacrifices that our military makes to defend our freedom. A quick reflection on our role supporting critical government operations reenergizes me and frequently jumpstarts innovative ideas to provide enhanced strategic solutions for our government customers.

Interview with Dan Johnson conducted by JD Kathuria

Read more interviews here: http://blog.executivebiz.com/category/interviews/

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