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Employee of the Quarter – KFS Joint Staff J7 Technical Support Team Names Dave Drake

Each quarter, Knight Federal’s Employee of the Quarter (EOQ) award for the Suffolk, VA location recognizes the outstanding qualities and contributions of employees towards Knight Federal’s goals and mission. Knight Federal recognizes that driven and loyal employees empower an organization. This second quarter the award recipient covering October – December 2018 is Dave “Duck” Drake.

Dave is one of four individuals that will receive the award each year. The honor is awarded the beginning of April, July, October and December during the Christmas party for an outstanding employee from the three preceding months.

EOQ 2018 Winner:

October – December – David Drake

Dave was awarded for his exceptional efforts over the past quarter. He continues to do superior test work and stands out amongst his fellow testers. During this Quarter Dave led the EAD Testing and Evaluation (T&E) Team through three different Test Sprints, overseeing the testing of 40 unique test cases for the Joint Exercise Design Tool that was demonstrated during the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) 2018. He is consistently providing feedback to the software developers and government product owner on bugs, maintenance issues and potential improvements.

Additionally, Dave mentored a fellow tester in developing the most recent Test Sprint of the Terrain Generation Services (TGS) software. This software has not had formal testing by the T & E Team in over 10 months. His actions continue to show the KFS team in the most positive light. He is a credit to the team!.

The Employee of the Quarter will receive:

A gift card for $50
A framed certificate recognizing their accomplishments
A Knight Federal imprinted leather notebook

Nominate an Employee

Complete the EOQ Nomination Form and submit it to the program manager Murray Hess. Anyone may nominate an employee. Nomination forms may be submitted at any time.

Nominations are due by the tenth day of the month preceding the award month (i.e., February, May, August, and November) or the next working day if the tenth falls on a weekend or System Offices holiday.

The Process

The EOQ Committee will meet on a quarterly basis throughout the year. The committee will assure that the nominee meets all of the basic requirements. The committee will consider the following contributing qualities when making the award selection:

Longevity and performance
Contributions to the Knight Federal community
Contributions to his or her office
Contributions to the outside community
Awards or recognition received

Knight Federal Solutions Teams with Engility, An SAIC Subsidiary to Win $106 Million Defense Intelligence Agency Contract

Awards, Business Development, News

Award Expands Services for Potential 10-Year Performance Period

Engility Corp, a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC), teamed with small business subcontractor Knight Federal Solutions, a solutions provider of simulation and training, cyber security, information technology, finance and intelligence analysis solutions to the Defense and Intelligence sectors, to win a single-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract worth potentially $106 million by the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Media Exploitation Center (NMEC).

The new contract provides for continued media management and analysis work, and will expand these services to include all of the DIA Science and Technology Directorate. Knight Federal Solutions has been a supporter of this program as a small business subcontractor to Engility since 2016. The contract award comes on the heels of SAIC’s $2.5 billion acquisition of Engility, completed in January 2019, as part of its strategy to expand its intelligence community portfolio.

“Since we have teamed with Engility, we have experienced growth of existing capabilities and gained new experiences within the NMEC. We are excited for the opportunity to continue supporting SAIC through the life of the follow-on and the stability it offers us to continue supporting this customer and mission,” says Matthew Herring, Vice President of Business Development at Knight Federal Solutions.

The IDIQ carries a potential 10-year period of performance. The contract supports NMEC’s training, document and media management, program support, and related intelligence operations. The team assists NMEC with document and media exploitation processes like data acquisition, ingest, processing, reporting, and timely dissemination to ensure the chain of command is immediately informed of any changes or developments based on media gathered by the U.S. military and intelligence community.

“Partnering with the DIA is a privilege we take seriously,” said Michael LaRouche, executive vice president and general manager of SAIC’s National Security Customer Group. “Expanding our services to the entire Science and Technology Directorate offers our team of intelligence and data analytics experts a great opportunity to bring value and technological innovation to even more missions.”

About SAIC
SAIC® is a premier technology integrator solving our nation’s most complex modernization and readiness challenges. Our robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, civilian, and intelligence markets includes high-end solutions in engineering, IT, and mission solutions. Using our expertise and understanding of existing and emerging technologies, we integrate the best components from our own portfolio and our partner ecosystem to deliver innovative, effective, and efficient solutions. For more information, visit saic.com or for ongoing news, please visit our newsroom.

Knight Federal Receives Northrop Grumman 2019 World Class Team Supplier Award

Awards, News, Press Releases

Awards Program Recognizes Small Business Suppliers for Significant Performance and Outstanding Achievements

Knight Federal Solutions, a solutions provider of simulation and training, cyber security, information technology, finance and intelligence analysis solutions to the Defense and Intelligence sectors, received Northrop Grumman’s 2019 World Class Team Supplier Award. The award is presented to small business suppliers that consistently demonstrate outstanding achievements and support of Northrop Grumman programs. 28 Small businesses from across the country were recognized for their significant performance as outstanding suppliers.

Chris Baeten, CEO, and Matthew Herring, Vice President of Business Development, attended the Corporate Global Supplier Diversity Programs Recognition Awards Luncheon held on May 16, 2019 in Linthicum, Maryland and accepted the award on behalf of the Knight Federal team.

“We are extremely honored to be recognized for this prestigious award from Northrop Grumman. This award reaffirms Knight Federal’s commitment to provide world-class technology solutions and services to our valued partners and the outstanding efforts of the Knight Federal team,” said Baeten.

Northrop Grumman annually acknowledges outstanding suppliers under its supplier diversity program which strives to ensure that capable small businesses receive subcontracting opportunities. The award selection process includes an extensive review against criteria such as technical capability and performance, cost competitiveness, product and service quality, and outstanding program support.

“Small business suppliers play a critical role in applying innovation and affordability to meet the challenging global security needs of our customers,” said Patricia McMahon, vice president, corporate supply chain, Northrop Grumman. “These awardees demonstrated superior business support and outstanding contributions to our small disadvantaged business, women-owned small business and service-disabled veterans’ objectives and top performance goals. They also have a large part in our relationships with the mentor-protégé programs, Historically Black Colleges/Universities and AbilityOne program initiatives.”

About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. In 2018, Northrop Grumman contracted more than $8 billion to a broad base of suppliers, with more than 37 percent of its procurement spending going to small businesses and women- or minority-owned firms.

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2019 OBJ CEO Business Leader of the Year

Awards, Media Coverage, News

Chris Baeten, CEO of Knight Federal was honored as one of the 2019 CEO Business Leaders of the Year by the Orlando Business Journal (OBJ) in May 2019.

This year, 19 of the most dynamic and influential individuals in Central Florida, were honored at the awards luncheon held on May 10 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress.

Each year the OBJ, along with panel of community and business leaders, select a group of individuals whose business success, community engagement and innovative influence has moved the region forward. Once again, this year has recognized a stellar group of leaders.

These chief executives have led their firms to fiscal success, created engaged workplaces and made Central Florida a better place to live. They have established a strong vision for their companies, involved their employees to bring that vision to fruition and made significant contributions to the community overall.

The award honors the highest-level executives at companies, organizations or agencies based in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake or Volusia counties. These leaders have had significant achievements in their careers within the past year, a strong record of innovation, outstanding performance in their work and are actively involved in their community.

The list of 2019 CEOs

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Knight Federal CEO Named 2019 CEO Leader of the Year

Awards, Community Involvement, Media Coverage, News, Press Releases

Chris Baeten 2019 CEO Leader of the Year

2019 CEOs of the Year Announced

The Orlando Business Journal is recognizing 19 individuals as CEOs of the Year for 2019 based on their significant achievements in their careers within the past year, as well as a strong record of innovation, outstanding performance in their work and are active in the Central Florida community.

These dynamic, influential and passionate executives have contributed to Central Florida‘s economy by fueling the economic engines of the community by the thousands of companies, organizations and government agencies that are operating and moving along strongly thereby strengthening the local economy.

These leading individuals don’t lock themselves away in the corner office. Rather, they establish a strong vision for their companies, involve their employees in bringing that vision to fruition and make significant contributions to the community overall.

This year, the Orlando Business Journal is recognizing 19 such individuals in the 2019 CEOs of the Year Awards. The program honors highest-level executives at companies, organizations or agencies based in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Volusia or Brevard counties who have had significant achievements in their careers in the past year.

Chris Baeten made the list and will be honored at the awards luncheon on May 10 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando.

For the full article link, which includes the list of all 19 CEOs on the Orlando Business Journal site – visit this link. NOTE: You must subscribe to the Orlando Business Journal to view the article.

Source: Orlando Business Journal, Anjali Fluker (March 29, 2019)

Knight Promotions – Matt Herring Advances

Awards, Employee, News, Press Releases

Matt Herring

Knight Federal is proud to announce the promotion of Matt Herring to Vice President of Business Development.

Matt has been with the company since its inception in 2013 and has been a critical part of growing the company into what it is today.

Since Knight Federal’s inception, Matt has been instrumental in every aspect of the company’s growth. His business development efforts allowed Knight Federal to grow more than 40% in the last two years. During this time Knight Federal added over 30 employees. His ability to capture, propose and win business led to Knight Federal’s award of its first prime contract in 2017. In addition to winning the first prime contract, Matt added new contracts and customers to Knight Federal’s portfolio while expanding and fortifying their current capabilities. Being an emerging company, Matt wears many different hats in his role. In the competitive world of government services, Matt’s understanding of the market and network have allowed Knight Federal to be poised for strong revenue growth in 2019 and beyond.

With this promotion, Matt will be in charge of developing business in the Department of Defense and Intelligence sectors as well as forming strategic partnerships within industry and government.

“The team at Knight Federal is very proud and excited for Matt on this important promotion. The potential for exponential growth of Knight Federal is in very good hands,” says CEO Chris Baeten.

Knight Federal Named 2018 Company to Watch

Awards, Community Involvement, Media Coverage, News, Press Releases

Award Recognizes High Growth

GrowFL celebrated the mark of the 8^th anniversary of its annual statewide awards program, Florida Companies to Watch^℠. Presented by GrowFL, in association with Edward Lowe Foundation, Florida Companies to Watch is an awards program like no other. This event celebrates growing second-stage companies headquartered in Florida. Developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation, this event is a unique way to recognize and honor second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace with innovative strategies and processes, making them “worth watching.”

Companies from across the state and all industries are encouraged to participate. Selection is based on steady growth in employee counts and revenue as well as strength in leadership, corporate culture, community support and philanthropy, innovation in management or technology, or other factors that contribute to an outstanding organization.

Knight Federal was proud to be among the 50 winners of the ‘2018 Florida Companies to Watch’ award. The selection criteria is based on the following: the identification of standout companies expected to see significant growth over the next several years. Honorees were selected from more than 500 nominations by GrowFL, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation. Factors included: strength in leadership, competitive market position and innovation in technology.

“The 50 honorees represent a diverse range of second-stage companies from across 20 Florida counties,” says Dr. Tom O’Neal, Executive Director of GrowFL. “While some of these businesses are fairly new, others are well-established. All demonstrate an entrepreneurial style that promotes steady growth. For example Knight Federal is a company that was established in 2013 but has experienced steady growth and creation of jobs due to its strategic business development strategies and innovative company culture.”

According to GrowFL, the 50 honorees generated nearly $1 billion in revenue and added nearly 1,000 jobs between 2014 and 2017. “This is a strong group of companies that deserve this special recognition given annually to the state’s top second-stage companies,” says Dr. Chris Morton, GrowFL Chairman and CEO of NanoPhotonica. Second-stage companies are defined as those with 6 to 150 full-time employees and between $750,000 and $100 million in annual revenue. There are many programs and incubators promoting start-up businesses; GrowFL is the only Florida program that focuses exclusively on second-stage companies. An awards ceremony was held on February 9th, 2019 in Tampa.

About GrowFL
GrowFL provides strategies, resources and support, including strategic research and peer-to-peer CEO mentoring and leadership development, to second-stage Florida companies. Created by the Florida Legislature in 2009 and grounded in the philosophy of Economic Gardening® — growing existing businesses in a community, region or state — GrowFL is a critical component of the state’s economic development strategy and Florida’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. GrowFL is certified by the National Center for Economic Gardening through the Edward Lowe Foundation. Website: http://www.growfl.com

About the Edward Lowe Foundation
Established in 1985, the Edward Lowe Foundation is a national, nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship through research, recognition and educational programs, which are delivered through entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs). The foundation focuses on second-stage companies — those that have moved beyond the startup phase and seek significant, steady growth. Website: http://www.edwardlowe.org

Knight Federal Honored by GrowFL as One of 50 2018 Florida Companies to Watch Winners

Awards, Media Coverage, News

Statewide Awards Program Recognizes Unique, Scalable High-Growth Companies

Knight Federal Solutions has been named one of 50 Florida Companies to Watch^℠ for 2018. The winning 50 statewide companies are expected to see significant growth over the next several years by GrowFL, the Florida Economic Gardening Institute. More than 500 companies were nominated from across the state of Florida, vying for the prestigious title of being honored as one of this year’s 50 Florida Companies to Watch a statewide awards program managed by GrowFL, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation, a nonprofit organization championing entrepreneurship. Knight Federal’s management team, competitive market position and strong community involvement were among several factors evaluated for the award.

“We are honored to be among the 50 companies named to the 2018 Companies to Watch by GrowFL,” says Chris Baeten, CEO of Knight Federal, a small business providing support services to the Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence community. “This recognition builds on several other recent achievements for Knight Federal, including the award of three new major contracts, as well as our recent launch of our nonprofit organization, the Purple Knight Initiative which provides paid internships to combat wounded warriors who are looking to learn a new career in fields that are conducive to their disabilities and desires for employment,” says Baeten. Knight Federal is one of the fastest growing companies in Central Florida, currently employing 90 staff. Baeten’s unique management style and informal approach has propelled the company on an impressive revenue track anticipating $12M in gross revenue this year, growing by 50% annually since inception.

“These stand-out companies are all led by entrepreneurs, and have demonstrated their capacity and intent to grow,” says Dr. Tom O’Neal, GrowFL executive director. “They also all have critical intellectual property or a niche position that gives them a competitive edge in their markets,” he adds.

The honorees represent a unique group of scalable, high-growth enterprises that are already located within Florida. These high growth enterprises are an important segment of our economy and their numbers have been steadily increasing, which contributed to Florida’s ranking of 24 on the 2018 Kauffman Index of Growth Entrepreneurship. Companies named to the list will be officially recognized on February 9, 2019 at the Straz Performing Arts Center in Tampa, FL. Tickets are on sale now for the awards ceremony. For more details, visit http://www.growfl.com/flctw18/about-flctw/

“This is a strong group of companies that deserve this special recognition given annually to the state’s top second stage companies,” said Dr. Chris Morton, GrowFL Chairman of the GrowFL Advisory Board, CEO of NanoPhotonica and a 2015

Second-stage companies are defined as those with 6 to 150 full-time employees and generate between $750,000 and $100 million in annual revenue. There are many programs and incubators promoting start-up businesses; GrowFL is the only Florida program that focuses exclusively on second-stage companies.

About GrowFL
GrowFL provides strategies, resources and support, including strategic research and peer-to-peer CEO mentoring and leadership development, to second-stage Florida companies. Created by the Florida legislature in 2009 and grounded in the philosophy of Economic Gardening® — growing existing businesses in a community, region or state — GrowFL is a critical component of the state’s economic development strategy and Florida’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. GrowFL is certified by the National Center for Economic Gardening through the Edward Lowe Foundation. Website: growfl.com

About the Edward Lowe Foundation
Established in 1985, the Edward Lowe Foundation is a national, nonprofit organization that supports entrepreneurship through research, recognition and educational programs, which are delivered through entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs). The foundation focuses on second-stage companies — those that have moved beyond the startup phase and seek significant, steady growth. In addition, the foundation has a second mission of land stewardship and is committed to preserving the natural resources and historically significant structures at Big Rock Valley, its 2,000-acre home in southwest Michigan. For more information visit www.edwardlowe.org.

Employee of the Quarter – Recognizes Glenn James

Awards, Employee, News

Knight Federal recognizes that driven and loyal employees empower an organization. In an effort to recognize and encourage such outstanding performance, we have implemented an Employee of the Quarter (EOQ) award for our Suffolk, VA employees. The EOQ Program recognizes the outstanding qualities and contributions of employees towards Knight Federal’s goals and mission.

Show your appreciation and acknowledge an outstanding employee by nominating him/her for the Employee of the Quarter Award! The next Employee of the Quarter will be selected in September. Deadline for nomination forms is August 31, 2018.

This award recognizes the accomplishments of individuals employed by Knight Federal’s Suffolk, VA location. Four individuals will receive the award each year. The honor will be awarded the beginning of April, July, October and December during the Christmas party for an outstanding employee from the three preceding months.

EOQ 2018 Winners:
April – June – Glenn James – J7

Glenn was awarded with this for exceptional efforts over the past quarter, assigned as the computer account builder for every event held in the building. Glenn has really stepped up in a big way and it is very much appreciated. Glenn embodies the phrase, “Team Player.” The success achieved by the Joint Staff J7 during the past quarter is directly related to Glenn’s outstanding efforts.

Glenn James receives employee of the quarter award.

January – March – Louis E. Williams
Louis truly distinguished himself during this quarter through his support of the EUCOM Event Exercise 18. Louis deployed to an austere environment and set up the Network that supported Model & Simulations, VTCs and voice communications. The EUCOM Event is the Joint Staff J7’s and European Command’s largest and most complex exercise. The success achieved by the Joint Staff J7 during the EUCOM Event 18 is directly related to Louis’ outstanding efforts.

Louis Williams is presented with the employee of the quarter award for January-March.

Employee of the Year
Toby Washington

This award was presented to Toby for his exceptional efforts over the past year. He is responsible for effective provisioning, installation/configuration, operation, and maintenance of all systems (VoIP’s, CISCO Call Manager, Zero Clients, VTC’s etc.) in TB14. This effort could not be done without Toby’s technical expertise as well as ability to understand event requirements.

Employee of the Year was awarded to Toby Washington.

The Employee of the Quarter will receive:

A gift card for $50
A framed certificate recognizing their accomplishments
A Knight Federal imprinted leather notebook

Nominate an Employee
Complete the EOQ Nomination Form and submit it to the program manager Murray Hess. Anyone may nominate an employee. Nomination forms may be submitted at any time.

Nominations are due by the tenth day of the month preceding the award month (i.e., February, May, August, and November) or the next working day if the tenth falls on a weekend or System Offices holiday.

The Process
The EOQ Committee will meet on a quarterly basis throughout the year. The committee will assure that the nominee meets all of the basic requirements. The committee will consider the following contributing qualities when making the award selection:

Longevity and performance
Contributions to the Knight Federal community
Contributions to his or her office
Contributions to the outside community
Awards or recognition received

Knight Federal plans to expand this award – stay tuned for more details!

Jay Redman Kicks Off 5 Year Anniversary Celebration

Community Involvement, News

Jay Redman Kicks Off Five-Year Anniversary

Knight Federal employees received a boost when Jay Redman, author of The Trident, The Forging and Reforging of a Navy Seal Leader, showed up at the headquarters office to kick start the five-year anniversary celebration of the company with a day of motivational speaking on becoming a better leader.

Partnering with Redman’s organization, the Combat Wounded Coalition, Knight Federal is working with them to identify combat wounded veterans to participate in the Purple Knight Initiative program.

As a team building celebration, employees and their families or special guests were invited to stay at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace near Disney Springs to relax and enjoy and participate in outings as a group to foster camaraderie.

“Recognizing that our employees are our greatest asset, I wanted to ensure that they understood how important they are and that this is a milestone that everyone can participate in moving forward. As our company continues to grow and generate success, it is shared and celebrated by everyone as a team that moves in cadence with one another,” says Chris Baeten, CEO of Knight Federal Solutions.

Knight Federal Solutions is one of the fastest growing companies in Central Florida, currently employing 86 people. In 2013, the company’s gross revenue was $47,797. Over the years, this grew exponentially, eventually grossing $8.3M in 2017. The company continues to experience impressive revenue growth anticipating annual gross revenue of $12M in 2018. Its success can be attributed the management style and approach of its CEO. Knight Federal Solutions was formed as a subsidiary of a holding company that owned multiple entities. Baeten was the managing partner of the firm at its inception. He acquired the business in December 2015 and has been operating as the company’s CEO ever since. Knight Federal Solutions provides simulation and training, cybersecurity, information technology, finance and intelligence analysis solutions to the Defense and Intelligence sectors.

Knight Federal employees hear from former Navy seal Jay Redman.