“At Booz Allen, I get to be around
bright people who have a
passion for what they’re doing.”

Nick Bruno

, Associate

Why did you choose Booz Allen?

I had served in the U.S. Navy for 9 years; even as I started a new journey, I still had a strong sense of wanting to give back to this country. I felt that consulting would be a great way to provide support to the Department of Defense (DoD) as a civilian. I had heard nothing but good things about Booz Allen, and during the interview process it became clear that this was the right place for me.

Why have you chosen to stay at Booz Allen?

At Booz Allen, I get to be around bright people who have a passion for what they’re doing, whether they’re other staff members or members of the client team I’ve worked with for more than 4 years. As a result, there have been many opportunities to network and grow. Even if you’re an expert in a certain area, you can always learn something new by going to other people who have a similar passion for what they do.

What type of work do you do at Booz Allen?

As a project manager, I lead an effort to help DoD assess how well their acquisition programs exchange information using the Turbo Tagged Assessment Tool (TTAT) methodology. By helping to collect, analyze, and share program interoperability information that various stakeholders use, we help ensure, for example, that a missile system will get the data it needs once it’s been built. There are nine staff members on my team, and I oversee staffing, contracts, and financial planning in addition to client interface and day-to-day tasking.

What excites you about your work?

It’s been exciting to be in on the ground floor of creating a new concept that is already providing a significant benefit to the client. The one assessment tool we developed for the DoD uses templates and extensible markup language (XML) tags to replace disparate manual documentation. As a result, stakeholders can discover and reuse complex information much more easily than in the past.

Do you have a mentor at Booz Allen?

I don’t have a formal mentor per se, but I do look to senior leaders within my chain of command at the firm for advice on how to carry out marketing efforts and grow my business. Because they’ve successfully reached the next level, I value their perspectives on where I should expand my business, new initiatives to get into, and individual strategies for different clients.

What differentiates Booz Allen from other companies that you could work for? What makes Booz Allen special?

Booz Allen is strongly focused on people—on allowing staff members to grow and progress. At other major contractors, when a contract ends, you might be on your own, without a new task. It’s not like that at Booz Allen. The firm is always doing so many different things that you can join another project team while continuing to work in your own area of expertise.

How has Booz Allen helped you be ready for what’s next in your career?

The training program is excellent, with awards and recognition for achievements. And the 360-degree assessment process—in which coworkers, subordinates, and senior staff members all provide feedback—helps you create a definite plan for the upcoming year. Client work, leadership opportunities, and training all come together to help you prepare for the next level.

How does the work you do help your clients be ready for what’s next? How has your work and your team’s work made an impact for your client?

What we’ve built for our client organization makes it a DoD leader in collecting and using information. At the same time, our process will be used in other acquisition fields, outside acquisitions programs, and ultimately beyond the DoD. Stakeholders are now coming to our client to learn how they can build a similar process.

Can you talk about a time when you saw one or more of our Core Values displayed?

Several Booz Allen teams collaborated to create the assessment tool solution I mentioned earlier. One team led software development, another analyzed acquisition interoperability policies, and still another ensured compliance with information assurance best practices. The way all of us came together over time—with a common focus on delivering the product—is an example of Booz Allen’s commitment to our Core Value of teamwork.