The finalists for WashingtonExec’s 2024 Pinnacle Awards were announced Sept. 20, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person Nov. 21.
Next is Ryan Abbott, vice president of defense at MetroStar, and finalist in the DoD Executive of the Year, Private Company, category. Here, he talks about recent achievements, shares career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2024?
One of our standout achievements in 2024 has been assembling a top-tier team that successfully took multiple prototype OTAs through the maturation lifecycle from concept to production, exceeding customer expectations and delivering performance that has left them thrilled. We also had a lot of wins that built up to large accomplishments. For example, we won contracts like Unified Network Operations and a CDAO JATIC contract. We also took steps delivering accelerated Salesforce development with our Salesforce practice this year. So, lots of exciting new wins! We will continue to iterate to achieve operational excellence by growing and supporting our contracts through our solution accelerators.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
My primary focus area going forward is being committed to achieving operational excellence. We prioritize operational excellence to ensure the success of our projects and continuously seek ways to enhance customer satisfaction every day. If you are not providing the best value that you know you can, what is the point? We must always continue to push ourselves to not just be good but to be great!
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
For me, when I can’t find the answer, I always go back to focusing on what we are doing for the customer and how we can do better. So, my best career advice is that the path is not always as clear and easy as it looks, but it is crucial to keep putting the customer first and delivering excellence. Let the career outcomes follow naturally from your commitment to the mission.
I love road trips. If I could drive to every small town in America, I would. The open road with little to no agenda is so exciting. I like to find small donut shops to stop at and give a little donut review when we visit. I really see the benefit of the human interaction that comes with visiting shops in small towns that sometimes you can’t find in big bustling cities with lots of bigger stores. There is something special about getting to speak with the person who took a massive risk in their life to open up a shop in their town because they believe in where they grew up and serving their community. As an Army guy, I like being on the water in Annapolis and I’m also a passionate dog rescuer.