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 David Sterling, CEO of Royce Geo, and finalist in the CEO Private Company (greater than $20 million and less than $100 million) category. Here, he shares key achievements, focus areas going forward, career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2023?
Taking the vision and expertise in our National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency customer base and replicating our advanced analytics, data science and software development to win programs in more than six new customers within the Defense Department and intelligence community. We created new opportunities where RFPs didn’t exist, building relationships and trust with new partners, bringing technology and mission expertise to operational needs, i.e. AI/ML derived monitoring of foreign threats, counter–narcotics interdiction, being the data fusion expert for the Air Force and becoming a legitimate space company supporting Space Force.
We also won $1.8 billion in contracts with the NGA and Space Force, growing our top line revenue by 30%, promoting 13 new leaders internal within our company, building a team where 60% of our staff are military veterans and being recognized by the business community, winning Top Company in 2023 by NOVA Chamber, Moxie awards and SECAF.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
Our primary focus is to build the best company experience for our employees and building deeper trust and capabilities for our partners. Growth is impossible to support if your team is not trained, prepared and hungry to take on new challenges. Our investments will double in leadership development to prepare for a high growth year. We will deepen our SW development team in 2024 to expand our analytics capabilities and deploy our software in customer environments. We also plan to build a larger growth/capture team and deepen our program execution leadership as we expect massive wins in 2024.This will ultimately support the mission by us not responding to requirements but by helping shape new technology ahead of requirements to dominate the battlefield.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Be brave and take risks. Nothing great is gained by doing what everyone else is doing. We bootstrapped our SW development practice in 2022 with marginally low dollars and a down profit year from 2021. By the end of 2023, we increased our profit margin over 10 times and grew revenues over 100%, to include gaining 10-plus new IC/DOD partners. Lastly, build a company based on mission. Building a company is a great experience. Building a company that affects our men and women of the U.S. military is inspiring. Constantly strive to get as close to the mission as possible, if possible, on the front lines, to create positive change.
Fun Fact: What is something about you that most people do not know?
I’m a fifth-generation commercial fisherman. I was working on a fishing boat in the Chesapeake Bay since age 10 and supported our family business until I left for graduate school at 22. That job, dealing with bad weather, plus 90-degree heat, constantly “on fire” by stinging jellyfish, and getting bit 1,000 times a day by blue crabs, created a relentless mentality that understands the value of hard work. Also having a chief growth officer who grew up family farming, we have created a “get the job done” attitude and ethos at Royce Geo.