Just in the time for the New Year, ExecutiveBiz, the area’s largest e-Magazine, has compiled a list of the “Top 20 People to Watch in 2009.”  At a time of economic and political change, these tried and true veterans of the government’s public and private sectors stand poised to take their companies and stakeholders to greater success in 2009.  Through demonstrated drive and business and political acumen, all 20 forged ahead and drove value to their organizations and the industry as a whole. As we look ahead, these respected names are sure to be ones that will make headlines in 2009.

Paul Leslie
President & COO, Apptis

Ever since Paul Leslie came on board Apptis as President and COO in 2007, he’s helped this leading IT solutions and services provider reinvigorate its image within the federal marketplace. Under Leslie’s leadership Apptis has streamlined operations by focusing on “best of breed” IT solutions and revamping other areas.  Apptis is owned by New Mountain Capital, a private equity firm.

Paul Leslie is no stranger to driving value to the company. Prior to joining Apptis, Leslie was President and CEO of Apogen Technologies, which was later acquired by QinetiQ, and this avid Red Sox fan was a key player in its organic growth and ultimate sale.  What’s in store for Apptis with Leslie at the helm?

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Local CEO Identified as Possible New CIA Director

The Washington Post and other sources have identified John Brennan as a possible replacement for current CIA Director Michael Hayden.  Mr. Brennan is currently CEO of The Analysis Corporation (TAC).  TAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Strategies Group (North America) Inc, run by Dr. John Hillen.  Mr. Brennan has had an illustrious career with the intelligence community, and serves as the Chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, as well as an intelligence and foreign policy advisor to President-elect Barack Obama.  Read the full story here.

Secret Service chooses “Code Names” for the Obama family. 

The Secret Service is known for it’s creativity for choosing code names for those they protect (However, Al Gore’s code name was “Al Gore”) Click here to get the Obama codes.

White House Comes Under Cyber Attack

As we move past the furor of the election year, it is sobering to note that a blitz of cyber attacks continue on governmental infrastructures despite our best efforts.  According to the Financial Times, the computer network of the White House was infiltrated on more than one occasion, with Chinese hackers gaining access to official email correspondence.  Wired Magazine reported that both presidential campaigns were hacked. Seems like this is something democrats and republicans can all agree on.  Read more here.

The U.S. government is fighting back, unveiling a plan this past February for a National Cyberspace Strategy.  The new administration has definitely chosen to harness the latest in cyberspace, as evidenced by their unprecedented campaign.

On October 28th, 2008, the Potomac Officers Club was proud to host newly-named Obama Transition Team Chief Technology Advisor Julius Genachowski, and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.  Genachowski spoke to a crowd of DC area executives on the technological expectations of the new administration.  Click here to read more!

Top 10 most irritating phrases. Are you unknowingly irritating people?

In veritably blunt fashion, Oxford University has collected the Top 10 most irritating phrases.  Unfortunately, the corporate world is not immune to overuse of expressions such as the time-honored, “synergy.”   Is one of your favorite phrases highlighted?  Click here to find out!

Do you know Tom Grissen of Daon?

ExecutiveBiz recently had the opportunity to sit down with Tom Grissen, CEO of Daon.  Grissen stays focused on identity assurance, as he believes that the future will demand it.  In fact, as we move further in technology and truly break down the map-drawn boundaries, who people think you are will determine your access level in even the most mundane areas.  In an age which has seen cyber attacks on all fronts, including the one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, cyber security remains at the forefront for both the government and corporations.  Tom Grissen addresses how Daon is tackling this pressing issue.    Click here to read more!

Knight Kiplinger Headlines POC Event

In a truly timely and powerful event, the Potomac Officers Club is proud to host famed business forecaster, Knight Kiplinger.  Kiplinger is Editor-in-Chief of the oldest economic newsletter in the U.S., The Kiplinger Letter.  Kiplinger is slated to speak on the troubled economic climate and how DC area executives can safeguard their assets.  According to Kiplinger, “The dynamism and heft of the US economy will be tested but not defeated.”  Register Here!

President-Elect Barack Obama utilized technology at an unprecedented level to reach out to prospective voters during the extended campaign, but if recent events are any guide he may find that technologies to prevent malicious hackers from getting into sensitive networks and data will be front and center.

This after the Financial Times reported last week that Chinese hackers had penetrated the White House computer network several times, in the process gaining access to e-mails between government officials. The article described the “hit and run attacks,” where hackers sneaked in long enough to extract information but quick enough to get out before the security holes were closed. This report comes on the heels of post-election news from US government cyber investigators that attacks conducted over the summer on the Obama and McCain campaign computer networks originated in China.

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A very hot topic among all technologists, from DC to Silicon Valley, is how the Obama election will change the technology landscape.   There are five key megatrends in IT today, and we should analyze change in the context of each.  These five megatrends in IT are:

• Convergence and trend towards unified communications and user empowerment
• Globalization and increasing internationalization of IT and demographic shifts
• Increasing open development of software and hardware
• Power, Cooling and Space (PCS) impacting data centers and every place computing is done
• Increasing pace of technology development and probability of disruption

President-Elect Obama has long articulated a technology strategy on his website.  It is most definitely worth a read by all enterprise technologists since it will form the basis of many of his policies and actions (one of the key leaders coordinating this plan was Potomac Officer’s Club speaker Julius Genachowski). Read the rest of this entry »

President-elect Barack Obama has selected D.C. tech executive and entrepreneur Julius Genachowski to his presidential transition team and will serve as the key technology adviser to the next president. The appointment is yet another signal of the important role that technology will serve in the next administration.

Genachowski spoke last week at a Potomac Officer’s Club (POC) lunch event featuring Gov. Tim Kaine and Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopra and which focused on the tech outlook of a new administration. Genachowski’s former Harvard Law School classmate, Sen. Obama, has an eye towards using innovative technology to deliver 21st century government services. Under the leadership of Genachowski, a Technology & Innovation Plan has been drawn up by the campaign, identifying the three tech policy principles for the new administration as “Open government, open networks, and open markets.”

A lawyer by training, Genachowski is co-founder of LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures, a Washington, DC-based new media and e-commerce advisory and investment firm. He has also been a lead player in the growth of major web companies, most notably Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp entertainment company.

After much success both professionally and with the campaign, it is very likely that he may fill in a new post as top technology advisor to the president.

On Tuesday, the Tysons Corner Ritz Carlton served as ground zero for the intersection of politics and technology, drawing hundreds of the area’s leading political and technology leaders. Through the hotel’s wood and glass doors and up to the 5th floor ballrooms streamed, among others, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Jim Moran (D-VA), and congressional hopeful Gerry Connolly. They were joined by area technology executives and innovators such as Mark Ein and CES head Gary Shapiro.

With the Presidential Election just days away, the undercurrent of politics was certainly palpable, but the Potomac Officer’s Club (POC) lunch event panel discussion featuring Gov. Kaine, Rock Creek Partners Managing Director (and member of Obama’s high tech brain trust) Julius Genachowski and Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopra, really focused on recognizing and honoring Northern Virginia’s emergence as one of the nation’s true business and technology success stories.

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It’s the height of Presidential election season and you know what that means: an endless stream of inane campaign ads centered around themes about as relevant to one’s Presidential timber as the candidates’ average bowling score. And with barbs flying it is easy to forget that there are policy issues of tremendous importance to the Greater Washington community (and nation as a whole of course). One area of particular interest to executives and the area workforce is each candidate’s technology strategy and views on the role technology will play in fostering innovation and preserving and improving U.S. competitiveness.

Little has been covered in the press on Sen. Obama’s technology strategy, which is why the Oct. 28 Potomac Officer’s Club (POC) event at the Ritz Carlton, Tyson’s Corner featuring Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and LaunchBox Digital co-founder Julius Genachowski (an advisor to the Obama campaign) is sure to be informative and provocative for those who attend.

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