Matthew Desch Propels Iridium to an All-Time High, Wash100 Voting, M&A Activity & GovConIndex
Local CEO Matthew Desch took over Iridium, based in McLean, Va., 12 years ago and helped the company recover from a troubled past to become the powerhouse that it is today.
Under Desch’s leadership, Iridium averaged nine percent growth during the past decade and is operating in a category all its own. The company has more than doubled its stock price in the past year.
Under Desch’s leadership the company has built and delivered a complete network of 75 satellites. The company anticipates being able to generate approximately $2 billion of free cash flow during the next five years. Its stock price is at an all-time high. Desch ensured the company is relevant in space for the foreseeable future and positioned Iridium in critical cutting-edge applications such as helping to build protection into GPS networks.
Iridium is leading in several space-based technologies including participation as a founding organization of Aireon, the global flight tracking system which operates on the Iridium backbone network. The organization has also developed a security layer for the GPS network. They provided key flight data that was used in the decision to temporarily ground the Boeing 737 Max 8.
The company’s services include communications for merchant shipping services, the Department of Defense, the airlines, and specialized technologies for the internet of things that make this company an emerging force in the race for superior “overhead architecture.”
In other news an estimated 9,000 votes were cast by members of the GovCon community to select the most influential GovCon executives for 2019. Mac Curtis of Perspecta garnered the most votes and holds first place. However, Jill Singer has emerged as the second highest vote getter after climbing 22 spots this week to tighten the race.
Tiffanny Gates of Novetta rose to fourth place in the voting after climbing 36 spots this week. Xavier Williams of AT&T climbed 37 places in the rankings to reach seventh place. With the news emerging that Tony Moraco of SAIC, who is tied with Gina Haspel of the CIA for fifth place, is retiring as the company’s CEO, his successor Nazzic Keene rose 31 spots to take eighth place in the voting.
In M&A news, Patriot Group International secured a seven-year, $95 million contract to provide security support services for a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency construction site in St. Louis. The Defense Logistics Agency also awarded six companies a one-year, $4 billion bridge contract to provide special operations equipment to all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. The contract award winners include Tactical and Survival Specialties, W.S. Darley and Co., Atlantic Diving Supply, Federal Resources Supply, Unifire and Quantico Tactical.
On Friday, the GovConIndex average ended at $101.9, representing an decrease of 0.32 percent for the GovCon30. Boeing recorded the greatest net change of 2.57 percent while Jacobs Engineering, KBR, Cubic Corp. and BAE Systems all reported a strong week on the GovConIndex.
Best,
Jim Garrettson
CEO & Founder
Executive Mosaic