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 (Public Company) finalist Rick Rosenburg, vice president and general manager of government solutions at Rackspace Technology. Here, he talks key achievements, turning points in his career, career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2020/2021?
A key achievement for me in 2020 was Rackspace Government Solutions winning the Texas Department of Information Resources contract — the largest contract win in the history of the company. It was a very different delivery approach than what Rackspace typically provides for a customer, and I’m very proud of our agility to transform how we do business.
Instead of delivering cloud expertise from inside a Rackspace facility utilizing Rackspace tools, we have delivered a team of cloud experts on-premises to create an environment similar to Rackspace’s internal environment to manage public cloud for the Texas DIR customer. Currently, 23 state agencies are utilizing the technology — and that momentum is growing.
What has made you successful in your current role?
I’ve come to realize that this is a team sport, and you have to have all of the players in the right positions doing their job. Everyone has to feel like they have a role in the game and a voice at the table. I believe I provide the ability to pull that team together, get the right people in the right roles, and ask for their input in crafting the overall direction the team is going to take.
Throughout my career, I’ve experienced a lot of situations where everyone around me knew a lot more about what was going on in a specific area than I did, but I had to lead the overall team. You get pretty good at pulling together a team and making sure they’re engaged, connected, and have ownership in the overall mission. A lot of times in government contracting, decisions are made in a bubble. I like to advocate for getting all of the people to the table.
What was a turning point or inflection point in your career?
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to as long as you have your team and your team is moving in the right direction. Going back to a previous role I worked in 20 years ago, we won the Navy Marine Corp Intranet, NMCI, even though we were the underdogs and weren’t favored to win. We pulled together an excellent team and brainstormed what we needed in order to win, and we accomplished that. Your team can accomplish much more than they expect of themselves when they pull together and put their minds to how to best solve a problem or situation for a customer. In the end, the program contract was a big win for our company and I’m very proud to have been part of the initial implementation of it.
What are you most proud of having been a part of in your current organization?
At Rackspace Government Solutions, apart from winning the Texas DIR contract, I’m most proud of the growth I’ve helped the organization achieve since I joined. The first year I was on board, we grew the organization by 50 percent. We’re on track to grow the organization again this year by over 50 percent, bringing together every team in the organization — from marketing and sales all the way to delivery.
What are your primary focuses areas going forward, and why are those so important to the future of the nation?
The primary focus area I have going on is to improve Rackspace Technology’s two product offerings for the Federal marketplace — FedRAMP Moderate-backed offerings of private and public cloud. Going to the next step, we currently have FedRAMP Moderate and are moving into FedRAMP High product offerings to provide our customers.
The Federal government is increasingly turning its focus to zero trust and strengthened cybersecurity, so these focus areas are critical to the future of our nation. FedRAMP and similar DoD impact level programs have become essential in ramping up the cybersecurity posture of agencies and the mission applications they utilize. Our part in helping secure those applications is providing a FedRAMP Moderate or FedRAMP High infrastructure. We’ll continue to focus on that to do our part to help ensure that our Federal customers’ environments are as secure as they need them to be.
How do you help shape the next generation of government leaders/industry leaders?
I think it goes back to team inclusion. I’ve had the privilege of working with many individuals in the past who are now leading large companies that support the Federal government. I think by just continuing to engage the team and the leadership team that is working with you to develop the mission and plan, you build strong teams that carry that on into their next organization.
Which rules do you think you should break more as a government/industry leader?
Sometimes it’s important to get the right outcome versus following the right process. I think we often get too process-focused, which can be very time-consuming. Thinking outside the box inherently involves not following the process. If our government is going to shift to a proactive rather than reactive approach to cybersecurity, you need innovative companies and leaders that think outside the box to get the job done.
What’s the biggest professional risk you’ve ever taken?
Going back 20 years when I was asked to lead the Navy Marine Corp Intranet contract as the lead executive, I stepped out of my current role at the time to lead the overall procurement effort for NMCI. As we had already completed the proposals and were waiting for the award, I kept getting called into the CEO’s office about once a week to know where we stood. I was very confident we were going to win, which I told the CEO at the time. I gave him a list of reasons why I thought we would win. He said to me he’ll never forget that, and that success has many fathers and mothers, but failure only has one. If we failed, that would be on me. I think telling him that we would win the contract was the biggest risk I’ve taken. Fortunately, we did win.
Looking back at your career, what are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of being able to create opportunities for other people. With growth comes opportunities for people to move up, get promoted, and step into different technology positions. I’ve been involved with many organizations over the past and have been involved in some pretty large growth within those organizations.
What was your biggest career struggle and how did you overcome it?
I think my biggest career struggle has been stepping into areas that were entirely new to me where I was surrounded by people who knew more than I did about a specific area. I’ve had to get comfortable with others knowing more than me. One of my strongest skills, though, is bringing teams together and getting them to work as one unit towards a successful goal.
What’s your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Take risks. It’s okay to step into environments you’re not familiar with. There are always going to be people out there who know more than you do. Just focus on your strengths and bring those strengths to the table. Understand the role you’re playing on the team and do that role to the best of your ability.