The finalists for WashingtonExec’s Pinnacle Awards were announced Oct. 13, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place virtually Dec. 8.
Next is Business Development Executive of the Year (Private Company) finalist David Hearding, who’s senior vice president of corporate development at Systems Planning and Analysis. Here, he talks key achievements over the last year, what he’s most proud of being a part of Systems Planning and Analysis, career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2020/2021?
Surprisingly, the COVID years 2020 and 2021 were the best years ever for SPA across the board, including for business development and growth. It was most definitely a companywide team effort that resulted in exceeding all prior company benchmarks during the period January 2020 through August 2021 including:
- 293 bids were submitted with a cumulative SPA value of $1.57 billion
- Book-to-bill ratio of 2.26 over the entire 20-month period (and more than 2.0 for five consecutive years)
- Takeaway bid and award of what is SPA’s largest contract, a single-award prime contract valued at over $185 million
- Added 40 new SPA clients
- Annualized revenue growth rates of more 20% in 2020 and 2021
What has made you successful in your current role?
I think a key thing that contributed to the amazing growth of SPA over the past 5 years was building a culture where growth is a companywide team sport which is reflected in the close collaboration between SPA line units and business development. I believe the BD team needs to be “helpers” and “doers” involved in detail from capture through proposal with the line unit that knows the client and will perform the work.
What are you most proud of having been a part of in your current organization?
I am most proud of being part of the team that has transformed SPA from a company that wasn’t growing to one that is now growing at 20% per year and has added 90 new clients in the past 5 years. It has been truly a team effort that has made SPA an exciting and fun place to work.
What are your primary focuses going forward, and why are those so important to the future of the nation?
SPA as a company is very mission focused on national security. As a nation, we face a growing number of serious national security challenges and threats. SPA is privileged to be a trusted industry partner supporting many critical national security missions including strategic deterrence from the sea, countering weapons of mass destruction and securing the defense industrial base.
Going forward, we are focused on continuing that support and expanding into other mission areas such as hypersonics, missile defense and space.
How do you help shape the next generation of government leaders/industry leaders?
One area where I think there is room for improvement in both government and industry leaders is overemphasis on process and underemphasis on strategic thinking. I call the conundrum “activity in lieu of thought.” We often keep ourselves busy working through our process checklist without thinking critically about whether there is a better way. It’s trite to say “work harder, not smarter,” but there is wisdom in that phrase.
The world and technology are changing at hypersonic speeds, while government and industry tend to keep doing what we have always done. Spend some time thinking about what could be a “better way.”
What’s one key thing you learned from a failure you had?
Life and business development are journeys that traverse deep valleys and mountaintops. Both victories and failures are transient, not permanent. Both are waypoints in the journey. Stay focused on the journey.
What’s your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Business development acumen is an experiential skill set. You learn from doing and seeing what works and what doesn’t. There are few, if any, immutable tenets of BD. The more you do, the more you see and experience, and the smarter you get. You can’t get 20 years of experience in one year. Put the time in, stay the course, be patient and learn from everything.