The Fort Meade Alliance's Meade Business Connect has hosted several events for membership and the business community. Below, read more about the following:
- Better Buying Power 2.0 Luncheon, March 2013
- FMA Industry Day, September 2012
- DISA Luncheon, October 2011
Better Buying Power 2.0 Luncheon - March 13, 2013
In 2010, Dr. Ashton B. Carter, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, issued a mandate for restoring affordability and productivity in defense spending. His directive, entitled Better Buying Power, included 23 initiatives organized in five major areas of efficiencies and cost reductions across the Department of Defense and in partnership with Industry.
In response, the NSA took a leadership role and created its own efficiencies plan. Under the leadership and vision of General Keith Alexander, Director of NSA and Jennifer Walsmith, Senior Acquisition Executive, the NSA was in front of this urgent demand for affordability establishing a very broad sweeping, bold plan involving a multi-phased approach and hundreds of millions of dollars in savings and efficiencies.
At the March 13 FMA Luncheon, presented by the FMA’s Meade Business Connect and sponsored by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Ms. Walsmith addressed the progress made at the NSA and across the Department of Defense since the Better Buying Power directive was introduced in 2010. She also discussed what the next several years will bring and how industry will be called upon to partner across the government.
FMA Industry Day - September 28, 2012
The Fort Meade government agencies and organizations are experiencing significant mission growth while faced with challenging budget constraints, which offers new teaming opportunities for government contractors across the region. As a result, the Fort Meade Alliance hosted FMA Industry Day, "Meeting increased Mission needs in a budget constrained environment."
FMA Industry Day, presented by the Meade Business Connect, offered opportunity for regional IT-focused companies interested in conducting business with the various Fort Meade government agencies, as well as prime contractors to learn more about working together.
The featured keynote speaker was VADM (ret) Bernard J. "Barry" McCullough, III, USN, former Commander of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and the U.S. 10th Fleet. Panelists for the morning session were: Jennifer Augustine, DISA's Technical Director for Procurement; Doreen Harwood, Program Executive Officer for Mission Management, Net Centric Capabilities and Analysis and Production for the NSA and Rosemary Budd, Vice President of Business Development for TASC.
During the networking sessions, attendees could also speak one-on-one with representatives from FGGM government agencies and FMA 5-Star member companies to discuss their capabilities and gather more information for future business opportunities.
For a complete list of exhibitors and more information on our keynote speaker and panelists, click here. Special thanks to our sponsor Tower Federal Credit Union.
DISA LUNCHEON - OCTOBER 28, 2011
The Fort Meade Alliance hosted Defense Information Systems Agency's Deputy Director COL James McCreary at an October 28th luncheon for nearly 300 people in the local business community, where he discussed DISA's procurement process and how to get connected.
As a combat support agency, DISA plays a vital role in the delivery of information technology services and capabilities to the warfighter. From the fundamental to the tactical, DISA's mission touches all facets of the DoD IT environment. The mission areas outlined below provide a framework to identify DISA resources or to learn more about their capabilities: Command and Control, Computing/Application Hosting, Contracting and Procurement, Enterprise Engineering, GIG Enterprise Services, Information Assurance, Multinational Information Sharing, Satellite Communications, Spectrum, Testing and Network Services
COL McCreary provides senior leadership and strategic guidance for the procurement of net-centric technology solutions for DISA. He is also the Deputy Chief to Kathleen Miller for the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DITCO), an organization that procures over $4 billion of products and services annually.
