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byline: Sydney Lake

HUD awards Fairfax firm $42M contract

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded -based tech contractor Pyramid Systems a two-year, $42 million contract to migrate loan processing system applications to cloud computing infrastructure designed for government use, the company announced Wednesday.

Pyramid Systems will use Salesforce to restructure existing code for the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) legacy information systems to help the agency migrate to Amazon Web Services’ GovCloud platform. 

“Pyramid has supported HUD’s mission for 25 years and has extensive knowledge of its , and processes,” Pyramid Systems President and co-founder Sherry Hwang said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with  HUD and help move the agency beyond mainframes into the cloud while digitizing manual processes.”

The company last summer helped the agency to transform the FHA’s legacy system.

“Pyramid has recently supported HUD with the modernization of Salesforce technology via supplemental claims MVP, which allows mortgage lenders to submit supplemental claims online in 17 minutes and receive payment in days versus the previous 17-month paper process,” Hwang said in a statement. “HUD is swiftly advancing toward a next-generation agency, and we are so excited to be a partner with them on this journey.”

Founded in 1995, Pyramid Systems provides cloud, analytics and advanced technology services.

 

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Tysons software company converts $425M cash holdings to bitcoin

The CEO of -based business company MicroStrategy Inc., Michael Saylor announced Tuesday that the company has now purchased $425 million worth of bitcoin. 

In August, the company had announced that it had converted $250 million from its cash holdings into more than 21,000 bitcoins, making it one of the first public companies to use cryptocurrency for cash holdings. The company announced in August it would keep its bitcoin holdings on its corporate treasury reserve — which Saylor said in a statement would be the principal holding in its treasury reserve strategy.

“On September 14, 2020, MicroStrategy completed its of 16,796 additional bitcoins at an aggregate purchase price of $175 million,” Saylor announced in a tweet. “To date, we have purchased a total of 38,250 bitcoins at an aggregate purchase price of $425 million, inclusive of fees and expenses.”

Saylor said at the time of the August announcement that the bitcoin investment was part of its “new capital allocation strategy, which seeks to maximize long-term value for our shareholders.”

The company has yet to make a formal statement or announcement regarding the latest bitcoin purchases. 

MicroStrategy employs approximately 2,400 and offers business data analytics software.

 

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DXC Technology taps CEO for spinoff health and human services business

-based company DXC announced Wednesday it has promoted Chief Financial Officer Paul Saleh to the new position of CEO of the company’s U.S. State and Local Health and Human Services business, which will be effective upon closing of the sale of the business unit to private equity firm Veritas Capital. 

DXC Technology announced in March it would sell the business unit to Veritas Capital for $5 billion. The health and human services business unit provides technology enabled, mission critical solutions for U.S.  administration and operations of health programs. The transaction is expected to close on Oct. 1.

“It is very rewarding to see this opportunity develop for Paul,” DXC President and CEO Mike Salvino said in a statement.  “It has allowed him to build on the foundation of his experience with DXC to move from to the CEO of this business, and I want to thank Paul for his contributions to the company over the past eight years.”

The company is conducting an external search for a new CFO, according to a statement, but Neil Manna, the company’s senior vice president and corporate controller, will serve as interim CFO.

DXC Technology was formed in April 2017 as a result of the merger of Computer Science Corp. and the Enterprise Services business of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The company has 138,000 employees worldwide and last year had revenues of more than $21 billion.

 

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Va. ID management, tech company names president, CEO

French ID management and tech company IDEMIA, which has U.S. headquarters in , announced Tuesday it has named Andrew Boyd as president and CEO of IDEMIA National Solutions (NSS), located in Alexandria.

Boyd was most recently the senior vice president of defense and intelligence at Reston-based Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC). In his new role, he will oversee IDEMIA’s defense, national security and classified missions work. 

“Andrew brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to IDEMIA National Security Solutions with a proven track-record of generating significant growth and profit throughout his career,” Ed Casey, CEO of IDEMIA Identity & Security North America, said in a statement. “His unique experience working in both the federal and defense space make him an ideal candidate to lead our Foreign Ownership, Control and Influence (FOCI) mitigated business unit that focuses on the U.S. National Security sector.”

Before working with SAIC, Boyd served in leadership roles with the U.S. Air Force, Unisys Federal, Engility and Northrop Grumman Corp. 

Founded in 2017, NSS is the FOCI mitigated IDEMIA affiliate. It supports U.S. national security interests of the United States of America through intelligence services including identification services, installation services and credential security services.

 

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Tysons contactless delivery tech company buys Ind.-based firm

-based startup HomeValet, which develops for contactless deliveries, announced Wednesday it has acquired Evansville, Indiana-based Evolve Engineering LLC, which focuses on appliance engineering. 

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

“Envolve Engineering’s team has had a hand in developing home appliance products for some of the largest refrigeration brands in the industry,” Jack Simms, HomeValet co-founder and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to have these seasoned innovators join the HomeValet team as we look to introduce our first IoT smart box product to the market and reimagine the current e-commerce delivery supply chain.”

HomeValet is developing a temperature-controlled “Smart Box” and subscription service for home deliveries, which, according to the company will be scaled by Evolve Engineer’s manufacturing and supply chain expertise.

Founded in 2013 by former Whirlpool engineers Mike Stagg, Greg Hortin, Patrick Boarman and Garett Strandemo, Envolve Engineering specializes in refrigeration engineering, appliance design, testing and safety. The company has more than 50 patents related to ice, water, beverage delivery systems and related cooling technologies.

“Second to having a great idea, is having the right talent to develop that idea into a winning product. HomeValet has assembled such an engineering team with years of experience specializing in major home appliances in advanced structures, thermodynamics and IoT systems,” HomeValet Adviser Steve Paddock, former Whirlpool senior vice president of global product development, said in a statement. “With Envolve Engineering’s talent, HomeValet will have the capabilities of a organization with the size and speed expected of a high performing start-up.”

Under the , Evolve Engineering will continue to operate from its Indiana office to perform testing, evaluation and general product development. Its engineering staff will also remain.

 

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Perspecta lands $98.4M Education Dept. contract

The U.S. Department of Education awarded -based Inc. a three-year, $98.4 million contract to help the agency manage inquiries about federal scholarships and other forms of academic financial assistance though an omni-channel contact center.

Perspecta will support the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) by operating the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC)’s contact center, where seek information regarding financial aid application processes. The company’s solution includes voice, web and mail applications.

“FSA constituents depend on us to provide effective and responsive customer service across all mediums,” Rocky Thurston, senior vice president and general manager of Perspecta’s civilian, state and local business group, said in a statement. “This demonstrates our superior reputation within FSA supporting this critical work and we look forward to continuing our relationship with our customer and adapting our support as their mission requirements evolve and grow.”

Perspecta has been working with the FSAIC program since 2015, with 600 Perspecta contact center agents and staff handling more than 23 million interactions via voice, chat, email and mail.

Perspecta employs more than 14,000 workers and won several large federal contracts this past year, including an $824 million, five-year deal with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and a $657 million extension on its Next Generation Enterprise Services contract to continue IT services for the U.S. Department of the Navy.

 

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Arlington logistics, security company names CFO

-based Cambridge International Systems Inc. announced Tuesday it has hired Josh Golden as chief financial officer.

With more than 25 years of experience, Golden was most recently the and chief operating officer with Advanced Systems Co. In his new role, he will lead Cambridge’s finance department and work with the executive leadership team on strategy.

“Josh has extensive experience overseeing global operations and leading sustainable growth while also [implementing] innovative approaches,” Cambridge CEO Kim Harokopus said in a statement. “We look forward to leveraging his expertise as we continue to grow and look for new ways to provide our customers with outstanding service at the best value.”

Golden earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his master’s degree in business administration from Villanova University.

Founded in 1994, Cambridge provides , , and surveillance services.

 

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Arlington contractor wins $450M DHS purchase agreement

The Department of Homeland (DHS) awarded -based federal contractor CACI International Inc. a one-time, $450 million blanket purchase agreement to provide desktop support services to the agency’s headquarters, the company announced Tuesday.

Under the contract, CACI will provide enterprise technology to sustain and administer IT systems, which, according to the company, will increase productivity of end users, engineers, mission support personnel, administrative users and all components in support of the agency’s mission. 

“CACI looks forward to building upon its success delivering innovative technology and support to DHS headquarters,” CACI President and CEO John Mengucci said in a statement. “This reaffirms CACI’s steadfast commitment to supporting DHS’ operations.”

CACI will use its service model that leverages agile program management approaches and automation to complete the contract, according to the company.

Founded in 1962, CACI specializes in enterprise and mission technology. The company has approximately 23,000 employees and is on the Fortune 1000 list.

 

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Smithfield Foods to contest OSHA citation

Foods Inc. intends to contest a from the U.S. Labor Department stating that Smithfield failed to protect workers during an April outbreak at its Sioux Falls, South Dakota, plant, where approximately 1,300 workers contracted and four employees died.

The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration () proposed fining the world’s largest processor the maximum amount under the law, $13,494, for “failing to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that can cause death or serious harm.” 

“This OSHA citation is wholly without merit and we plan to contest it,” Keira Lombardo, executive vice president for corporate affairs and compliance, said in a statement issued Tuesday. “After an investigation that spanned many months and encompassed the review of over 20,000 pages of documents and 60 interviews, OSHA has issued only a singular citation under its catchall ‘general duty clause’ for conditions that existed on and prior to March 23, 2020. This is notable because OSHA did not issue guidelines for the meatpacking industry until April 26, 2020. Despite this fact, we figured it out on our own.”

The OSHA citation said that Smithfield employees worked close together and were exposed to the virus. OSHA, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also in April issued issued joint guidelines to meat processing plants, aimed at protecting factory workers from contracting COVID-19.

“We took extraordinary measures on our own initiative to keep our employees as healthy and safe as possible so that we could fulfill our obligation to the American to maintain the supply,” Lombardo said. “We incurred incremental expenses related to COVID-19 totaling $350 million during the second quarter alone. Ironically, OSHA then used what we had done as a model for its April 26 guidance.” 

Smithfield Foods temporarily closed the South Dakota plant in April after cases surged among employees, which the company says was due to a spike in local cases.

“The fact is that the Sioux Falls community experienced an early spike in COVID-19 cases, which impacted our plant. We responded immediately, consulting with CDC, South Dakota Department of Health, USDA and many others,” Lombardo said. “We also simultaneously and repeatedly urged OSHA to commit the time and resources to visit our operations in March and April. They did not do so. … More than anything, the outcome of OSHA’s comprehensive, full court press investigation of our Sioux Falls … facility validates the aggressive and comprehensive manner in which we have protected the health and safety of our employees amid the .”

Based in Smithfield, giant Smithfield Foods was founded in 1936 and employs more than 40,000 people in the U.S. 

 

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VCU polls show Biden, Warner up by 50%+ in Va.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Warner are both ahead of their opponents by double-digit margins, according to a statewide poll conducted from Aug. 28 to Sept. 7 by the Center for Public Policy at the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Biden (53%) is ahead of Republican incumbent Donald Trump (39%) by 14 points and Warner (55%) is polling ahead of Republican Daniel Gade (38%) by 17 points. VCU’s July also showed Biden ahead in July at 50%. A Roanoke College poll conducted Aug. 9 through Aug. 22 also showed Biden at 53% with Trump at 39%.

Biden has large leads in south Central Virginia (65%-22%), Northern Virginia (59%-32%) and Tidewater (56%-33%), while Trump has large leads over Biden in the western (63%-36%) and northwestern (58%-36%) regions of Virginia. The race followed the same trend regionally as the presidential race. 

In terms of gender, women were more likely to prefer Biden over Trump by 22%, and men prefer Biden over Trump by only 5%. This is a shift, however, from a poll released by the Wilder School in July that showed that men were more likely to say they would vote for Trump. The U.S. Senate race followed the same trend in terms of gender as the presidential race. 

Among independents, Biden leads by 8% and Warner leads by 16%.

The poll also provided insight on Virginian’s opinions about vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and mail-in voting.

“The VP choice by Biden doesn’t appear to have significant influence on any group,” former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said in a statement. “I think the Biden camp needs do more connecting, particularly with minority communities.”

A telephone survey of 804 adults living in Virginia showed that 70% of Virginians say the of Harris for vice president will have no impact on their decision to vote for Biden. Only half of the respondents said they are very or somewhat confident that mail-in votes will be accurately cast and counted. Republicans were more likely to be skeptical at 67%, while 68% of Democrats were more likely to trust the process.

 

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