From left, Kevin Brancato (Bloomberg Government), Rob Efrus (Efrus Federal Advisors) and James Scampavia (AMERICAN SYSTEMS)
WashingtonExec closed out 2014 for the Federal Acquisition Council for Business Development Professionals with an evening roundtable on the topic of “Capitol Hill’s 2015 Federal Funding Outlook“.
Keynote speakers were Kevin Brancato, Senior Defense Analyst at Bloomberg Government, and Rob Efrus, founder and CEO of Efrus Federal Advisors.
Council Chairman James Scampavia, VP of Business Development for AMERICAN SYSTEMS, introduced the speakers, who spoke on topics of cybersecurity, changes on Capitol Hill and the government’s overarching goals to reform the acquisition process.
Brancato discussed the increased amount of news coverage focusing on the macro problems of government, when in reality, there can be errors in the macro-economic data itself. He hypothesized that cybersecurity is going to be the big “winner” in the years ahead in regards to the amount federal funding the industry will receive, while spending for the armed forces will decrease.
Efrus spoke about the new incoming members of Congress and new committee chairmen, advising attendees to reach out to the representatives in the states where their companies have offices.
“With the shift in the Senate and new leadership in major committees, this is promising to be a year of change for the Defense Department and its’ industrial base,” Pegasus Strategic Advisors CEO and WashingtonExec STEM Council Chairman Ed Swallow said, who attended the event. “The dialogue at this event really helped everyone understand some of the more subtle, but significant implications of these changes.”
The WashingtonExec Federal Acquisition Council for Business Development Council, Chaired by James Scampavia, VP of Business Development at AMERICAN SYSTEMS, was formed in early 2014 to meet the evolving needs of acquisition professionals in the private and public sectors. VP of Business Development, or equivalent leaders, of emerging and large businesses meet multiple times a year with acquisition and procurement professionals on the rapidly evolving needs of the government customer. Each organization selects one critical talent within the company’s BD unit to observe and participate in meetings.
