The finalists for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards were announced March 28, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person May 10.
Next is Lee Bader, chief growth officer at Royce Geo and finalist in the Private Company Chief Growth Officer (Annual Revenue Greater than $20M and Less than $100M) category. Here, he shares key achievements, focus areas going forward, career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2023?
2023 was a transformational year of growth for Royce Geo. We won 11 contracts and onboarded five new Department of Defense customers including the Space Force. This was a focused all hands effort and the realization of a vision and goal established three years earlier. Royce Geo focused on the DoD and IC need to modernize its intelligence apparatus, which we did through a hybrid solutions and services approach to automating the intelligence lifecycle from tip to tail with regards to automated satellite tasking through tipping and queuing, processing and exploitation through data models and AI/ML, and automated intelligence dissemination. We were able to reduce the latency in the intelligence production lifecycle by more than 500% in some cases.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
Royce Geo’s focus will be to continue to advance capabilities and to reach across the entire DOD and IC to showcase how we are providing intelligence modernization for our customers today. This is important to mission as timely and relevant information is critical for decision makers and the warfighter enabling the decisive advantage to outmaneuver our opponents and those who threaten the U.S. and our allies.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
First, it’s all about passion for the mission. If you don’t have it, find something you are passionate about and pursue it. If you are passionate about providing the best possible solutions and services to enable our national security apparatus, put in the reps and understand all facets of the business. I believe you must have been part of the team building the tech, and or providing the service, as well as selling it to best understand the business.
Fun Fact: What is something about you that most people do not know about?
I grew up on a 5000-acre farm in Southeast Missouri, Bader Farms, and started working when I was 12 and knew how to drive a manual (tractor) before I knew how to drive an automatic. It was hard work but taught me at an early age that if you are focused on an objective and put in the time, energy, and have a solid team around you, you will be successful in whatever you do.