Top 25 Execs to Watch in 2019

Tony Moraco, CEO, SAIC

SAIC’s most significant achievement in 2018 was announcing the acquisition of Engility in September. In accordance with its long-term strategy, Ingenuity 2025, SAIC focuses on growing organically, as well as through strategic mergers and acquisitions.

“We are excited to broaden customer access and obtain new capabilities to accelerate market penetration in areas like the intelligence community and space domain,” CEO Tony Moraco said.

Other major accomplishments involve the continued evolution of SAIC’s internal matrix operating model, which helped the company win major contract awards. SAIC held onto large contracts including its C5ISR systems, networks, and support equipment work for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic, various space-related activities, and training and exercise support on the Joint Staff Multiple Award Contract.

The company also expanded its work with the Agriculture Department to include IT modernization and grew new customers such as the Commonwealth of Virginia and the PEO STRI Enterprise Training Services contract.

“Our greatest challenge this year was the U.S. Marine Corps’ action on the Assault Amphibious Vehicle Survivability Upgrade contract,” Moraco said. “The USMC shifted their strategy from investing in legacy system upgrades to next-generation modernization, ending our work on upgrading AAV legacy vehicles. From a business and an employee redeployment perspective, we had to navigate the contract loss and find work for many of our people on other contracts.”

Another challenge SAIC works to tackle is competing for talent and continuing to attract cleared personnel to help its customers achieve their mission. Lastly, the company was able to balance resources to focus on the integration planning for Engility while still bidding proposals and executing programs for our customers.

“We have reported strong quarterly financial results and I am proud of the company’s dedication to supporting both,” Moraco said.

The areas of technology innovation to date that will also continue into 2019 include:

Augmented and Virtual Reality: SAIC rapidly developed a low-cost trainer for the Pilot Training Next program, helping the Air Force reduce the time pilots spend in simulators before going into live flight training.

Rapid Innovation: Not a technology per se, but SAIC customers are interested in rapid delivery of innovation. SAIC has a presence in the Innovation Factory in Austin, Texas, to give it access to innovative technology that will enable its customers to achieve results on application modernization projects and to prove out new technologies in short time frames.

Cloud Computing: SAIC has helped many customers migrate to the cloud. The company also built its own next-generation data center, which is at its core a software-defined data center. It provides a flexible infrastructure to support SAIC’s needs into the future as well as serve as a proof point of this technology for SAIC customers.

Why Watch:

In 2019, Moraco said he plans to travel more, along with other leaders, to meet and engage with its current and new employees following the close of the proposed acquisition of Engility.

“We are welcoming about 9,000 more people and many new locations, so we are going to directly engage with the teams to energize the workforce and communicate with them about our combined strength and the opportunities SAIC will have in the market,” he said.

Moraco said SAIC looks forward to the integration of Engility’s core capabilities that include work in the intelligence and space domains. It will be serving new customers and continuing to focus on developing outcome-based solutions and services for them.

“The integration of the two companies will also deliver value to our shareholders,” Moraco said.

SAIC is investing more in technology development and innovative solutions and associated business models to differentiate SAIC in its markets. The company is broadening its portfolios in space, intelligence, IT modernization, mission software, and training, while still maintaining its core business in defense readiness and system engineering.

“We will innovate and problem solve with determination and the highest ethical standards, while having access to even greater mission-critical talent,” Moraco said.