ExecutiveBiz ExecutiveBiz covers emerging companies in Washington's government contracting sector.

It’s a frightening statistic: The Washington, DC area leads the nation in the prevalence of kidney disease. But there’s hope. The Kidney Ball is the National Kidney Foundation’s largest one-day fundraiser, raising funds to support medical research and other critical initiatives. To keep the momentum going, Bill Couper, a key …

According to a redacted report recently released by the Inspector General, Federal Student Aid, a section of the Department of Education, has placed applicant’s personal data at risk. The reported highlighted eight poor security practices at Federal Student Aid. The report did not highlight any specific instances of data being …

Congress has approved a bill increasing the Department of Homeland Security’s budget by 6.6 percent for 2010. The bill includes an 27 percent increase for cyber security. The bill has been sent to President Obama for his approval. The total bill, authorizing $42.8 billion, is slightly below Obama’s requested$43.1 billion. …

Yesterday, CSC announced the appointment of Peter Allen to the position of group president of Strategy and Business Development for its Managed Services Sector (MSS). In this position, Allen will serve as a senior executive to sponsor and enable CSC’s growth strategies related to market positioning, major account development and …

The weakest link in any computer system is the individual sitting right in front of the keyboard. That means you. It’s a point worth reflecting on, especially now; Obama has designated October “National Cyber Security Awareness Month.” To keep the momentum going, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and …

The Obama administration is stepping up its efforts to effectively educate the American public regarding cyber security issues. Janet Napolitano and President Obama have both conducted video presentations on cyber security in the past week. With October designated by Obama as National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), the administration has …

According to a new report by TechAmerica, federal IT budgets will only grow 3.4% in the next 5 years. This is a significant drop from the 8.3% growth rate from 2005 to 2010. The estimates for the decrease in growth rate are influenced by the percentage of the federal deficit …

Yesterday, Keane announced that it has appointed Michael Thomas as its executive vice president and chief sales officer. In this role, Thomas is expected to drive global sales for the IT services firm. Thomas’ experience as a sales leader in the technology industry necessitated this move. Most recently, Thomas was …

The arrival of cool weather brings closed windows and doors and a dearth of fresh air.  While the average office and executive waiting area are usually decorated with a few plants, the right plants in the right places can do more than just convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.  They can …

Americans seem to like simple arguments with simple solutions. Case in point: Recent polls indicate increasing concern over and opposition to the nation’s growing debt, despite the fact that there has been very good reasons for the added government spending. The economy has plummeted, therefore unemployment and other social service …

With new mandatory disclosure provisions, reporting requirements on stimulus funding, and a changing landscape with organizational conflict of interest (OCI) mitigations, today’s contracts and procurements environment just got a little tougher.  It’s a challenge Mark Connel is meeting head-on in his role as vice president and executive director of contracts …

In his four years as area vice president of Dell’s defense business, Joe Ayers has stuck to a winning formula. “The number one thing with all customers is to first listen, understand where they’re trying to go with their IT enterprise, then look for ways to save them money,” says …

ExecutiveBiz recently interviewed Ken Cuccinelli, Republican candidate for Attorney General of Virginia.  He outlined his experience, legislative priorities and his plans for keeping Virginia’s communities safe.  Here are some notable quotes: “…in our last budget we met the budget in part because the federal government came in and stuck a …

Robert Carey, the Navy’s CIO, outlined some of the key concepts and strategies for Navy cyber/IT on his blog. He believes that these six areas are significant opportunities that the Navy should work to implement. Carey’s first strategy is to ensure that the Navy embraces new technologies as they become …

The Department of Defense announced that Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, current director of the NSA, was nominated by President Obama to head the DoD’s new Cyber Command. Alexander will be promoted to a four star general and will be responsible for coordinating the new US Cyber Command that will be …