Suzan Zimmerman, Senior Vice President of Strategic Campaigns at CACI, keynoted a WashingtonExec roundtable on best practices for evaluating, bidding, and capturing large market opportunities within the government contracting industry. A direct report to CACI CEO Ken Asbury, Zimmerman emphasized the importance of strong professional relationships outside the company and targeted mentorship within the company in order to win and foster growth in business.
CACI’s consistent excellence in delivery, keen understanding of customer missions, continual innovation, and competitive pricing are the foundation to customers’ confidence in working with the company. Drawing on advice from her grandfather, “people buy from people they like,” Zimmerman said that although the market is contracting, she believes that now is the most positive time for business and that we will continue to see great companies mature and innovate. A good corporate development strategy is not about marketing, but about building a winning team quickly and seamlessly, Zimmerman concluded.
“Suzan delivered a presentation with plain speak and words of wisdom we can all use in business development in these challenging times. She provided a meaningful takeaways for everyone who attended- regardless of company size – large, small, or in between,” said Ron Jones, Chief Strategy Officer and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at Vistronix.
Acknowledging that professional development and training are some of the first divisions of an organization to be cut during times of austerity, Zimmerman suggested that it is the job of top leadership to take an active role in mentoring and shaping the future workforce of organizations. It is time to focus on equipping program managers with correct leadership tools to succeed and to “go back to the basics” of building a robust business, according to Zimmerman.
“Suzan is a great example of someone who intuitively uses the right combination of management and leadership mindsets to build great leaders within an organization. Building great teams requires an action plan for boosting your personal leadership potential, as well as for developing leadership skills in others, something Suzan also does seamlessly,” said Alan Berson, sponsor of the roundtable and author of Leadership Conversations: Challenging High-Potential Managers to Become Great Leaders.
Before joining CACI in July 2013, Zimmerman was senior vice president for corporate development at QinetiQ North America. Zimmerman a member of The Tower Club Tysons Corner Board of Governors.
