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Tag: Ashburn

Codan to acquire Herndon-based Domo Tactical Communications

Codan Ltd., an Australian manufacturer with its U.S. headquarters in Ashburn, has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares in Herndon-based Domo Tactical Communications from a private equity company. Subject to regulatory conditions typical of transactions of this nature, the acquisition is expected to be completed by April 30, Codan announced Tuesday.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Australian news reports put the deal at about $88 million in U.S. dollars upfront, with a later payment of about $16 million if certain targets are met.

DTC is a commercially-off-the-shelf technology provider of high bandwidth wireless communications with capabilities in MIMO Mesh networks and next generation software defined radios that stream data across its self-forming and self-healing networks. DTC is a long-term supplier for more than 20 key U.S. government agencies, as well as the “Five Eyes” intelligence communities, including the military, special forces, border control, and first responders and broadcasters. DTC has locations in the United Kingdom and Denmark.

“The acquisition of DTC is consistent with Codan’s well-publicized strategic growth plan for our tactical communications business. This is focused on providing total voice, data and video communications solutions by transitioning from a traditional voice-only platform,” said Donald McGurk, Codan’s CEO, in a statement.

Codan is a global technology company that develops technology solutions to solve communication, safety, security and productivity problems in some of the harshest environments around the world.

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Washington Football Team taps NYC marketing agency for rebrand

The Ashburn-based Washington Football Team announced Monday it has tapped New York City-based marketing agency Code and Theory as its agency partner while it continues its rebranding process and selects a new permanent team name.

With a branding partner selected, the team says this “kicks off the next phase of the team’s rebranding process, and will culminate in the selection of a permanent team name, identity and brand, as well as a reimagined approach to fan engagement and game day experiences,” according to a Washington Football Team statement.

After 88 years as the Washington Redskins, the team announced it was retiring the Redskins team name and logo on July 13, 2020. The decision was made following a June 2020 statement that the team would undergo a “thorough review” of the Redskins name “in light of recent events around [the] country.” By the end of July 2020, the team had said it would go by the Washington Football Team until it formally adopts a new permanent name. 

The Washington Football Team chose Code and Theory after reviewing “multiple agencies that competed for the assignment,” according to a team statement. Code and Theory partnered with the team to develop its interim Washington Football Team branding and “No Name But Team” campaign.

“When we decided to retire the name we’d had since 1933, we wanted to move quickly to make a change in time for this season, but also take the time to really get our new brand and identity right,” Washington Football Team President Jason Wright said in a statement. “We worked with Code and Theory to create the ‘Washington Football Team’ identity and all of the accompanying branding in record time. It has been well-received by our community, our players and our fanbase.”

In the interim, the Washington Football Team has also solicited input for branding suggestions through its Washington Journey website, which had received tens of thousands of submissions by October 2020, Marcus Stephenson, vice president of digital marketing and programming, told Virginia Business. Code and Theory also worked with the team on the Washington Journey site, according to a Washington Football statement.

“Changing a brand is not [done] overnight,” Stephenson said. “You can’t have it done in three weeks; you can’t have it done in six months. We’ve got to be diligent.”

Founded in 2001, Code and Theory employs more than 800 people and has worked with clients including Adidas, CNN, J&J, JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer and Xerox.

 

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Washington Football Team is first NFL team to partner with sports betting company

The Ashburn-based Washington Football Team announced Monday a partnership with gaming company FanDuel Group to provide sports betting across the state. It’s the first NFL team to partner with an online sports bookmaker. 

Through the partnership, which was approved by the Virginia Lottery last week, FanDuel will serve as the operational partner for a betting permit held by the Washington Football Team. The Virginia General Assembly legalized online sports betting last year. The industry in Virginia is regulated by the Virginia Lottery, which also approved permits for DraftKings and BetMGM in recent days. 

“We’re honored to partner with an iconic sports franchise, and we plan to deliver the most fan-focused, and secure, mobile sports betting experience to the passionate sports fans of Virginia,” FanDuel CEO Matt King said in a statement.

Under the partnership, FanDuel will also have stadium signage at FedExField and offer “game day experiences” such as a special section of the stadium.

“When this truly unique opportunity presented itself, it was a natural fit to strategically align with our long-time partner, FanDuel, as we knew they’d establish a best in class sports betting marketplace, grounded by innovation and consumer protection,” Scott Shepherd, senior vice president of corporate partnerships and hospitality for the Washington Football Team, said in a statement. “We’re very excited for all this groundbreaking partnership will offer our valued fans throughout the commonwealth of Virginia as part of their game day experience.”

 

 

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Equinix announces $95M Ashburn data center expansion

Redwood City, California-based digital infrastructure company Equinix Inc. has opened a new $95 million data center on its existing Ashburn campus, giving the company additional capacity.

The two-story data center is designed for both large and small deployments. The $95 million first phase includes more than 41,000 square feet of colocation space, which will total more than 124,000 square feet when the expansion is complete.

“D.C. continues to prosper as a key digital hub for businesses around the world despite the challenges faced with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jon Lin, Equinix Americas president, said in a statement. “Our continued expansion in this important metro creates more opportunities for businesses to leverage Platform Equinix as the central component to their digital foundation while enabling them to grow and scale at software speed.” 

Loudoun County’s Ashburn area is the primary data center hub of the world — with more than 70% of all internet traffic passing through it.

“Ashburn, in Loudon County just outside of Washington, D.C., is a central connectivity hub and critically important to the U.S. cloud and infrastructure story. Enterprises that previously did not see a need to improve networks may now, as a result of the pandemic, be open to new approaches and ready to try network hubs,” 451 Research Director Kelly Morgan said in a statement. “This is placing an increased focus on data centers that can offer direct connections to the cloud with private on-ramps.”

Equinix has more than 225 International Business Exchange data centers across 63 markets and 26 countries, providing service to more than 9,500 businesses.

 

 

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Telos Corp. goes public with $254M IPO

Ashburn-based cybersecurity federal contractor Telos Corp. announced Thursday it plans to raise $254 million in an initial public offering.

The $14.9 million shares of common stock at a price of $17 per share are listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol TLS — and were up by 12% on Thursday afternoon. The offering is expected to close on Nov. 23.

Telos intends to use the proceeds to repurchase a noncontrolling interest in Telos Identity Management Solutions LLC and to pay off outstanding debt. 

The company provides cybersecurity solutions for IT risk management and information security along with other cloud services. Telos serves military, intelligence and civilian federal government agencies, allied nations and commercial organizations. Founded in 1969, it earned $219.2 million in 2019 revenues.

 

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Washington Football Team closes Ashburn sports training complex

The Washington Football Team announced Tuesday it would close its Inova Sports Performance Center in Ashburn after finding out that a player had tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday night.

The team has closed the sports complex where the team trains in Ashburn and has moved all meetings online scheduled for this week, according to a team statement. Washington Football Team players practice at the 121,000-square-foot facility in Ashburn. The sports complex was rebranded in 2017 to reflect a partnership between Falls Church-based Inova Health Systems and what was formerly known as the Redskins franchise.

“Last night we were made aware that a Washington player tested positive for COVID-19,” says a Washington Football Team statement released Tuesday morning. “The player immediately self-isolated and contact tracing data was evaluated. All of the player’s close contacts have been told to quarantine.” The team has not released the name of the player who tested positive.

The team most recently played an away game versus the Detroit Lions on Sunday. However, an unnamed source says the player was not with the 53-man team on Sunday, according to reports. 

“We will continue to work closely with the NFL’s chief medical officer and follow the league’s guidance,” says a Washington Football Team statement. “The health and safety of our players, coaches and staff is our No. 1 priority.”

Washington Football Team President Jason Wright on Monday (prior to the reported positive COVID-19 case) announced that the team would not allow spectators at FedExField in light of a resurgence of cases in the Washington, D.C. area. This Sunday, the team is scheduled to play the Cincinnati Bengals at home.

“As we head into this week’s game, we are in the midst of COVID-19 resurgence in the area. I’m disappointed that this means we won’t have fans at the game against the Bengals, but we and our partners in the Prince George’s County government agree this is the most responsible decision we can make,” Wright said in a statement. “However, we know that you all will be there with the guys in spirit, and we will continue to work furiously on some of our business priorities.”

This story will be updated shortly.

 

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N.Y.-based contractor buys Ashburn tech company

Albany, New York-based tech government contractor GCOM announced Monday it has acquired Ashburn-based managed services provider 20/20 Teknology. 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

20/20 Teknology specializes in virtual communications, IT infrastructure and managed services, while GCOM provides digital engagement systems and government IT programs. The acquisition will expand GCOM’s offerings for its government clients.

“As a leading provider of unified communications, IT infrastructure and managed services, 20/20 Teknology brings to GCOM lessons learned from the private sector and the depth of expertise to facilitate government digital transformation,” Kevin Scully, 20/20 Teknology managing director, said in a statement. 

20/20 Teknology will keep its operations in Ashburn despite the acquisition. GCOM is a portfolio company of New York City-based private equity firm Sagewind Capital.

 

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NFL takes charge of Washington Football Team investigation

The National Football League is taking charge of the investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse within the Ashburn-based Washington Football Team organization, according to a statement from team owner Dan Snyder.

According to reports from the NFL, on Monday Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke with Snyder, who was “supportive of the step.”

“Recently, The Washington Football Team launched an independent third-party investigation into allegations about our culture and incidents of harassment,” Snyder and his wife, Tanya, said in a statement. “In conversations with Commissioner Goodell, Tanya and I suggested that the NFL assume full oversight of the investigation so that the results are thorough, complete and trusted by the fans, the players, our employees and the public. I appreciate Commissioner Goodell agreeing to our suggestion and the entire Washington Football Team remains committed to fully cooperating with all aspects of the investigation.”

Following a July 16 Washington Post report that detailed the experiences of 15 former female employees who said they were sexually harassed and verbally abused during their time with the team, The Associated Press reported that Snyder had hired Washington, D.C.-based law firm Wilkinson Walsh LLP to review the team’s culture, policies and allegations of workplace misconduct. The announcement came amid rumors trending on social media and on sports news sites that The Washington Post was going to publish an exposé about Snyder (who purchased the NFL team in 1999 from Jack Kent Cooke’s estate for $800 million) and the team.

In order to cooperate with the law firm during its investigations, Snyder told the NFL he will release current and former team employees from nondisclosure agreements, according to The Washington Post.

Then last week, The Washington Post reported that a DVD was produced for Washington Football Team executives containing lewd footage taken of then-Washington Redskins cheerleaders without their consent during the Ashburn-based NFL team’s 2008 cheerleader swimsuit calendar photo shoot. 

Former employee Brad Baker told The Washington Post that Larry Michael (then the team’s lead broadcaster and a senior vice president) instructed staffers to make a video for Snyder that shows moments when women’s nipples were inadvertently exposed as they shifted positions or adjusted props during a 2008 cheerleader swimsuit calendar photo shoot. 

Snyder and the team did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment and Michael denied the allegations.

Amid the workplace controversy, the team is also undergoing a name change after extensive discussion on what many see as a discriminatory and derogatory name against Native Americans. The team on July 13 announced the retirement of the Redskins team name and logo and is accepting input for branding suggestions through its new website Washington Journey. 

Despite a losing streak, name controversy and workplace misconduct allegations, the team in 2019 had the seventh-highest NFL team valuation at $3.4 billion, according to Forbes.

 

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Former Washington Football Team employee alleges lewd videos taken of cheerleaders

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that a DVD was produced for Washington Football Team executives containing lewd footage taken of then-Washington Redskins cheerleaders without their consent during the Ashburn-based NFL team’s 2008 cheerleader swimsuit calendar photo shoot. This report builds on a July 16 report from the publication that detailed the experiences of 15 former female employees who said they were sexually harassed and verbally abused during their time with the team.

Brad Baker told The Washington Post that Larry Michael (then the team’s lead broadcaster and a senior vice president) instructed staffers to make a video for team owner Dan Snyder that shows moments when women’s nipples were inadvertently exposed as they shifted positions or adjusted props during a 2008 cheerleader swimsuit calendar photo shoot. Michael called these moments captured on video the “the good bits” or “the good parts,” Baker, who was a producer in the team’s broadcast department from 2007 to 2009, told The Washington Post.

Snyder and the team did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment and Michael denied the allegations.

“I feel betrayed and violated,” former Washington Redskins cheerleader Heather Tran told The Washington Post after viewing the 2008 video of outtakes from the swimsuit calendar shoot. The unofficial video contains brief footage of her exposed nipples.

“Larry said something to the effect of, ‘We have a special project that we need to get done for the owner today: He needs us to get the good bits of the behind-the-scenes video from the cheerleader shoot onto a DVD for him,’” Baker told The Washington Post. The publication obtained a copy of the 2008 video from another former employee as well as footage from the 2010 calendar shoot in the Dominican Republic that included a close-up of one cheerleader’s pubic area, obscured only by gold body paint. The source told The Washington Post that Michael had ordered that the video be burned to a DVD titled “For Executive Meeting.”

In 2018, The New York Times also reported that during a 2013 trip to Costa Rica, cheerleaders’ passports were collected upon arrival at the resort, leaving them without any formal identification. Some cheerleaders were also required to be topless during a photo shoot, to which spectators (all men) had been invited — which The New York Times had reported were team sponsors and FedExField suite holders.

After The Washington Post released its July 16 report, the Associated Press reported that Snyder had hired Washington, D.C.-based law firm Wilkinson Walsh LLP to review the team’s culture, policies and allegations of workplace misconduct. The announcement came amid rumors trending on social media and on sports news sites that The Washington Post was going to publish an exposé about Snyder (who purchased the NFL team in 1999 from Jack Kent Cooke’s estate for $800 million) and the team.

Snyder himself wasn’t directly accused of any misconduct in the original Washington Post report, but nearly all accounts from former female employees mentioned in the article happened during the time he has owned the team. Snyder, whom The Washington Post said declined to be interviewed for the story about alleged harassment, issued a statement on July 17 saying such behavior “has no place in our franchise or society,” adding that he was committed “to setting a new culture and standard for our team.”

Michael, who for 16 years was the team’s play-by-play radio announcer, retired in mid-July. Director of Pro Personnel Alex Santos and Assistant Director of Pro Personnel Richard Mann II were fired the weekend of July 11. In December and early January, longtime team president Bruce Allen was fired and head athletic trainer Larry Hess, who had been with the organization for 17 years, was also let go. 

Among the men accused of harassment and verbal abuse in the July 16 Washington Post article are Michael, Santos and Mann, each of whom reporters say were “members of Snyder’s inner circle and two longtime members of the personnel department.”

Amid the workplace controversy, the team is also undergoing a name change after extensive discussion on what many see as a discriminatory and derogatory name against Native Americans. The team on July 13 announced the retirement of the Redskins team name and logo and is accepting input for branding suggestions through its new website Washington Journey. 

Despite a losing streak and name controversy, the team in 2019 had the seventh-highest NFL team valuation at $3.4 billion, according to Forbes.

 

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Washington Football Team names president

The Washington Football team announced Monday that it has appointed Jason Wright as president of the Ashburn-based National Football League team. He is the NFL’s first Black team president.

The former professional running back will oversee the organization’s business divisions, including operations, finance, sales and marketing, reporting directly to Dan Snyder. Wright was most recently a partner with management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

“If I could custom design a leader for this important time in our history, it would be Jason,” Snyder said in a statement. “His experience as a former player, coupled with his business acumen, gives him a perspective that is unrivaled in the league.”

During his NFL career from 2004 through 2011, Wright played for the Atlanta Falcons, the Cleveland Browns and the Arizona Cardinals. He is also currently a trustee with the Union Theological Seminary in New York City and earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from from Northwestern University and his master’s degree in business administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

He comes into the role during a wave of change at the organization — most prominently, its name. The organization announced in late July that the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins would call itself the Washington Football Team during the 2020-21 season until it formally adopts a new permanent name. On July 13, the team announced it would — after 88 years — retire the Redskins name and logo after weeks of discussion over what many see as a derogatory name for Native Americans. The decision was made following a June 3 statement saying it would undergo a “thorough review” of the team name, “in light of recent events around [the] country.”

The Washington Football Team has also recently faced media turmoil for an exposé by The Washington Post detailing the experiences of 15 former female Washington Redskins employees who said they were sexually harassed and verbally abused by some managers, not including Snyder.

“We will not rest until we are a championship caliber team, on and off the field,” Snyder said in a statement. “Jason has a proven track record in helping businesses transform culturally, operationally and financially. He is a proactive and assertive advocate for inclusion of all people and will set new standards for our organization, and for the league. 

“There could not be a better duo than Jason Wright and Coach Ron Rivera as we usher in a new era for Washington Football.”

 

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