On July 27, WashingtonExec hosted “Get Off the Bench” author, longtime industry CEO and board director Sid Fuchs for a candid, closed-doors discussion on his life lessons of personal and career development at the International Country Club in Fairfax, Virginia.
Fuchs joined senior GovCon executives for an intimate dinner and Q&A, focusing on the importance of people and sharing his perspective from someone who has “made all the mistakes, but learned from each one,” as Fuchs said.
His perspective stems from his more than 30 years of experience transforming engineering and technology organizations. Today, he is board chair at Eutelsat America Corp., sits on the board of directors for NT Concepts and Buchanan & Edwards, Inc. and is on the board of advisers for INADEV.
Fuchs shared a series of lessons learned, professional and personal tips, and career development notes at the dinner ranging from managing others to having integrity and relationship building. He described the dinner discussion as “lively and content rich.”
“It was an enjoyable evening networking with a broad set of industry executives and hearing from Sid about some of his personal and professional life lessons that were both authentic and insightful,” said John Avalos, chief growth officer at Arcfield, who attended the dinner.
Attendees asked insightful, thoughtful questions that “demonstrated a true desire to improve their leadership and networking skills,” Fuchs said. The dinner also allowed attendees to connect with Fuchs and with each other, serving as a valuable networking opportunity for members of industry.
“For me, it is rewarding to know I can still be impactful in young executives’ career development and help in any way I can, even in retirement,” Fuchs said.
Before retiring from full-time industry positions, Fuchs most recently served as president, CEO and director of MacAulay-Brown, Inc., before Alion Science and Technology acquired it in August 2018. Then, he joined Alion’s senior leadership team, serving as chief operating officer until September 2019.
He has also served as the president and CEO of OAO Technology Solutions (acquired in 2010), the CEO and a director of ATS Corp. (acquired in 2012) and the president and CEO of TASC, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary.
Fuchs is a former CIA officer and a graduate of the CIA Special Operations and Training School and the CIA Intelligence Analysis School.
“Sid provided candid and thought-provoking advice on unique challenges that C-level executives face,” said Alka Bhave, chief operations officer at Riverside Research, who also attended the dinner. “He hit on ones that I personally have experienced and it was comforting to know that he navigated these, too. I took away much from the conversation.”
WashingtonExec will host Fuchs again in the fall to speak with members of the GovCon community.