Top 10 CFOs to Watch in 2020

Bruce Crowell

Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, SOS International LLC

Bruce Crowell has been with SOS International LLC since 2003 and has more than 45 years of leadership experience in the government defense and technology markets. In 2019 alone, he was heavily involved in SOSi’s acquisition of Vykin Corp., which marked the fourth significant acquisition for the company in four years.

Following the acquisition, SOSi completed a large-scale corporate restructuring to align its businesses with its core customer markets.

“As part of the reorganization, we were able to eliminate several legacy HR, payroll and financial systems by integrating them into single enterprise solutions,” Crowell said. “The consolidation removed redundancies and generated efficiencies that we are now using to drive down costs and be more competitive in our contract bids.”

And despite its acquisitions and reorgs, SOSi remains a private family-owned and -operated firm, the largest of its kind in the defense services industry, according to Crowell.

“We have never competed for and won any small business set-aside contracts, and we have managed to become one of the largest integrators in the federal market without the help of outside investors,” he added. “That’s not to say that outside investment is bad, but it does say something about the level of commitment, faith and confidence we have in our business.”

But what really makes SOSi special for Crowell is its corporate culture and dogged pursuit of growth.

When Crowell joined SOSi 17 years ago, the company was primarily a language services company providing translators and interpreters to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the U.S. Customs Service (now Homeland Security Intelligence). It has since grown from providing linguists to support global Army operations in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan to providing intelligence analysis supporting tactical military operations and, eventually, moved to multidomain intelligence at the national and strategic level. SOSi has also acquired business specializing in data and image sciences and began investing in technology products.

In the past four years, SOSi has acquired five businesses ranging from network operations to software development.

“Fast forward to today: We are the leading provider of base operations services to the U.S. military in Iraq,” Crowell said. “We are among the leading DOD IT integrators, responsible for managing the Army’s largest regional cyber center in the U.S. and a $400 million program to build a global communication enterprise with our international allies. SOSi also manages the State Department’s payroll modernization program, and recently won the DIA’s Solutions For Intelligence Analysis III contract — while remaining an extensive language contractor.

“We accomplished this growth and diversification by being bold and creative — thinking outside the box to create new opportunities while solving complex challenges for our customers,” Crowell continued.

But SOSi is always looking for ways to enhance its business operations. Under Crowell’s leadership, SOSi is revamping its cost structures to create more flexibility in its bids while improving its price competitiveness. The company is also upgrading its internal control framework by expanding process documentation and benchmarking controls against accepted industry standards for identifying and controlling risks to ensure the organization is operating efficiently.

Externally, the company is growing its international footprint into the Pacific, Southwest Asia and Europe. Today, about one-third of SOSi’s employees work overseas.

“We are investing in pushing out our corporate infrastructure to better connect our employees around the world,” Crowell said.

Why Watch:

In 2020, SOSi is looking for ways to introduce more automation into its business systems to help improve workflows and reduce operating costs. The company is also developing more robust dashboard capabilities to provide its program teams and customers with a real-time understanding of the health and financial performance of its various programs.

And externally, SOSi will continue to have an aggressive acquisition and investment mindset, Crowell said.

“The integration of complementary leading-edge capabilities, through strategic partnerships and M&A, will continue to fuel SOSi’s long-term growth,” he added. “The company is always looking at ways to augment its portfolio of capabilities and deliver innovative, high-impact solutions that strengthen and protect national security.”