Acquisitions tend to come in three flavors: those that leave you scratching your head as to why either party would pursue the transaction; those that leave you scratching your head why one party would pursue the transaction; and finally those that leave you nodding your head approvingly. Anyone following M&A activity close enough can end […] More

At times, entrepreneurs seeking funding through the traditional venture capital process can start to feel like Michael J. Fox’s character in “Secret of My Success.” As a newly-minted college graduate who leaps from small town, USA to the Big Apple, Fox’s character shuttles from one interview to another, only to hear the same refrain: “We […] More

While the Internet may not quite be the great equalizer when it comes to political campaigns pitting heavyweight candidates against underdogs, Politics 2.0 has certainly caused front-runners to sweat a few buckets. Today’s Washington Post has an A1 story examining the Web’s promise and peril for Presidential candidates – particularly front-runners with less to gain […] More

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff recently launched a blog in what he hopes will “open a dialogue with the American people about our nation“™s security.“ Started in the middle of September, the blog, described by the Department of Homeland Security as a Leadership Journal, has picked up steam to several posts a […] More

At times, the path from subcontractor to prime contractor can appear so steep and fraught with peril that many companies retreat to the cozy confines of a sub role. But Diana Gowen, Senior VP & GM at Qwest Government Services, is used to scaling unthinkable heights. Gowen confided to ExecutiveBiz back in April that she […] More

Somewhere along the line – as partisan mudslinging increased over the Iraq War – the concepts of patriotism and service to one’s country became contorted to fit the various political agendas. One pundit argues that it is unpatriotic to question the War, and a politician comes back and says it would be unpatriotic not to. […] More

If you read the popular blog, Techcrunch you know that last Thursday a group of fifteen “industry luminaries“ took part in a highly confidential meeting at Google“™s Mountain View, CA offices. According to three of those in attendance, Google plans to launch a new set of APIs in early November in an effort to give […] More

Employee-owned companies – or those majority-owned by employees through a Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Profit Sharing Trust or Stock Purchase Plan – barely register as a percentage of all U.S. companies. Many tend to be clustered in consumer-facing market segments (i.e. – supermarkets, fast food), but if you look at the 100 largest (by […] More

It is not easy for the Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of a $1.8 billion company with 10,500 employees to convey genuine humility when reflecting upon a career overflowing with personal accomplishments. But it was clear to the room full of local executives and leaders who came to hear Jack London, Chairman of […] More

Illinois Sen. and 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama joined LinkedIn, the online professional community, further positioning his campaign as the leader in utilizing social networking sites to garner online support. Already a strong presence on Facebook, MySpace, and Flickr, Obama recently joined LinkedIn, the social network site aimed professionals looking to expand their networks in […] More

Daily Dulles Toll Road commuters would likely not welcome the addition of more cars to the Dulles Corridor route, but how about more car companies? As reported in the Washington Post today, Volkswagen of America was set to announce the company was moving its corporate headquarters to Herndon in an effort to reverse weak sales […] More

Fellow ExecutiveBiz blogger Karen Mortensen did a wonderful job analyzing the August 30th Washington Post story that chronicled the wave of regional education technology companies changing the way teachers, students and parents work and interact. As I looked beyond the Blackboard“™s and Defywire“™s in perusing the full list of 20+ companies listed in the article, […] More