The finalists for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards were announced March 25, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person May 11 at the The Ritz-Carlton in McLean, Virginia.
Next is CEO (Public Company) finalist John Wasson, who’s CEO at ICF. Here, he talks key recent achievements, shaping the next generation of industry leaders, career advice and more.
How do you help shape the next generation of government leaders/industry leaders?
People across the nation are grappling with significant economic and social challenges. The pandemic, intensifying natural disasters, technology advances with shifting user expectations, climate change, aging infrastructure, the rise of renewable energy resources and more.
And as the intensity of these challenges rise, so does the pressure to quickly deliver excellent and equitable federal services — a top priority on the president’s management agenda.
With this backdrop, it is important that the next generation of government leaders think differently about how to address these difficulties. Government agencies and rising government leaders need to combine domain expertise with technology, digital solutions and advanced analytics to deliver practical programs with strong impact. While navigating this combination can be very challenging, at ICF, this is exactly what we do.
Across public health, energy, education, climate and many more fields, we work with our clients to create innovative solutions that meet difficult business challenges and better support mission outcomes.
For example, we helped New York City and other densely populated cities find ways to go carbon neutral; offered public health agencies bioinformatics, health research and health IT solutions that offer quick access to critical health data and trends; and used customer insights to design highly effective and more equitable energy efficiency programs.
Every day, our teams bridge the gap between new ideas and practical approaches that help federal agencies solve some of biggest problems of our time.
What are you most proud of having been a part of in your current organization?
Coming out of the last two years, we have seen a renewed and shared focus on improving the future. Governments around the world, and companies big and small, private and public, across various industries, markets and regions are reimagining approaches, solutions and infrastructures to meet the moment of today.
Many are asking: How do we create a healthier planet? Build more resilient communities? Effectively modernize IT systems? Spur economic growth? Develop more sustainable ways of doing business? Create more equity?
And while some are new to this conversation, at ICF, we’ve been asking these questions since our founding 50+ years ago. I am proud to be part of a company that has remained resolute to our values for half a century. And now, the values that have always defined ICF are strongly reflected in so many of the global markets we serve, allowing us to offer a unique perspective to our client partners.
Then and now, ICF has been a collection of people who care deeply about improving lives and making the world a better place, both in our work and in our actions, for our clients and for ourselves. And that is incredibly rewarding.
What key achievements did you have in 2021/2022?
We are passionate about developing sustainable, impactful solutions for our clients. This was acutely seen in our 2021 growth in the U.S. federal civilian market as agencies work to meet aggressive, new mandates. Combining the best of our deep domain experience with new innovative technology and digital solutions, ICF garnered a 10.2% year-over-year increase in total revenue in our federal market.
And across all our government and commercial markets, we closed 2021 with a 6.4% increase in service revenue, with record contract wins, two-thirds of which represented new business.
While smaller in size relative to some of our bigger name peers, ICF continues to grow nicely.
What’s your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
I started at ICF as an entry-level associate right out of graduate school over 30 years ago. During that time, I’ve done many different things and played a variety of roles before becoming chief operating officer in 2003, president in 2010 and now CEO.
I never felt I needed to look for opportunities elsewhere because ICF kept changing, growing and reinventing itself. And giving me opportunities to do the same. Over the past three decades, it’s like I’ve worked for several different companies! That’s been fun and exciting.
But that only worked because I was always willing to raise my hand and embrace that evolution. I learn by doing and over the years, I would ask to take on new challenges and assignments that put me out of my comfort zone. I strongly encourage others to do the same.
Of course, there’s a risk of failure in all of that, but also an opportunity to learn, persevere and grow — both personally and professionally.
What has made you successful in your current role?
It’s simple: The success of our people drives the success of ICF.
When someone is supported, respected, empowered and inspired, they thrive, create and innovate. ICF’s success is the product of a unique values-driven culture and relationships forged while working together on issues we believe make a difference.
The value we deliver to each other, our clients and the communities we serve are generated by our people. We balance profitability with social responsibility, ambition with compassion and individual success with teamwork. When we personally live up to these ideals, ICF thrives.