There were several reasons I chose Booz Allen Hamilton. After spending nine years in the US Navy as a surface warfare officer, I saw the firm as a place to learn and grow and leverage my previous experience as a technical consultant in the international arena. The firm has a long reputation of service to the US Defense market. And Booz Allen Hamilton hires good people and gives them the opportunity to work with clients on challenging issues.
I had a hunger to be a problem-solver, to look at problems holistically. As a consultant, I can work at a strategy level to help define the issue and work with clients to meet their goals, then be part of the implementation and see the results.
For my first 25 years at Booz Allen Hamilton, I worked in acquisition and international program management. I support international militaries around the world, from the acquisition strategy down through the actual integration of ships, airplanes, weapon systems, and so on. I work with clients to determine the equipment, systems, training, and logistics that are needed, and then help with the acquisition, program management, implementation, and sustainment throughout the system life cycle. But I made a decision last year to move to the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region and help grow the firm’s business in this market.
At Booz Allen Hamilton, I was able to leverage my Navy experience working around destroyers. The Navy transitions decommissioned US ships to foreign navies. With my background, I can provide technical support to life cycle maintenance, logistics, training, and sustainment activities of ships and weapons systems.
My work with foreign navies is definitely a career highlight. Besides enjoying the technical work, which was challenging and satisfying, I also liked helping our staff grow and develop. As the US staff worked with international counterparts, it gave me pleasure to support and nurture those relationships.
For the kind of work I do, having a technical skill, such as in engineering, is very important, along with the ability to look at problems analytically, from the client’s perspective. Beyond technical skills, being able to establish relationships in the international market is key. As time goes on, those relationships become as important as technical skills.
At Booz Allen Hamilton, you can be a problem-solver and look for creative solutions. That's what we do. And my long experience here tells me that the firm strives to do the right thing. I've never seen us cut that corner. I've always seen us follow through and do the right thing by the client, whether it cost us money or not.
What differentiates us in the MENA market is that we combine strategy consulting with technology. Many firms focus on one area or capability, but we bring a combined strength in overall strategy, acquisition strategy, acquisition support, integration, and implementation.
We’ve been working with the Defense ministry of a former Eastern bloc country that has hopes of joining NATO at some point. The leaders of the country have addressed a lot of legacy issues—such corruption and a bad economy—left over from the Communist era. They have worked very hard to develop good business processes and build an economic structure that would meet NATO standards and give them global credibility. Over the years, we’ve been able to help them succeed in their goals, so that the country can be ready when NATO issues the invitation.
There are a lot of hard, technical problems around supporting foreign navies. Many times we had to reverse-engineer a system because it was no longer supported by the supply system, or figure out how to replace an obsolete system with something new. I wasn't an engineer when I came to Booz Allen Hamilton, but I learned engineering alongside some of the firm’s best. I learned more about ships after I came to here than I did in nine years in the Navy.
Certainly I’ve appreciated the opportunity to work on both US and international assignments, but I most enjoy the people I work with and knowing what they can do. And then it's just exciting to watch people grow and know I had a hand in that. Many people come to Booz Allen Hamilton focused on a single technical skill. It’s a privilege to help them learn new skills, and then watch them begin to lead their own teams, and grow the talents of others.
