William McCormick
Maximus Federal General Manager Teresa Weipert recently spoke with ExecutiveBiz for the publication’s latest Executive Spotlight interview detailing the challenges and initiatives of the federal and government contracting (GovCon) sector’s most significant leaders of consequence.
During her Executive Spotlight with ExecutiveBiz, Weipert discussed her vision for the future of the company in the federal landscape, recent contracts with federal agencies such as the IRS, the implementation of Maximus’ recent Veterans Evaluation Services (VES) acquisition, the challenges involved in capitalizing on the latest IT modernization efforts.
You can read the full Executive Spotlight with Teresa Weipert below:
ExecutiveBiz: Congrats on becoming Federal GM for Maximus back in April. What excited you the most about joining the company? What’s your vision for the future of Maximus as positive momentum continues to drive the company’s growth in the federal landscape?
Teresa Weipert: “It’s a growing company. When I looked at Maximus, I saw a company that had momentum, and a company that was taking advantage of that momentum. There were two big acquisitions this year, with Attain and VES (Veterans Evaluation Services), that expanded the company’s portfolio and laid the groundwork for even more growth.
I was very impressed by Maximus. The company’s overarching goal of helping the government better serve the citizens is one that I believe in, particularly at this time in our country as we look at transitioning out of the pandemic. This is a team helping the government on every level, from state and local up through the federal government and with foreign governments as well. It felt like an exciting challenge and new chapter for my career, to further this company’s growth.
Another thing that drew me to Maximus was the potential. There was so much magnificent work done by Maximus during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping with everything from vaccine distribution to relief payments, that I knew there was potential to do even more.
We’re seeing that already, as we’ve secured relationships with new agencies through acquisitions, as we’re building out our existing long-term relationships. We have been working with agencies like IRS, FEMA, CMS, CDC, and HHS for years, if not decades, and those partnerships are becoming bigger in scope as we move forward.
Ultimately, the growth is fueled by our people, our processes, and our technologies. My job is to make sure we’re focused every day on best utilizing those to improve our business and deliver even better results for agencies.”
ExecutiveBiz: Also back in April, Maximus acquired Veterans Evaluation Services for $1.4 billion. What can you tell us about the challenges of implementing VES’ workforce and culture as well as the impact the acquisition and working with the VA is having on Maximus’ long-term growth strategy?
Teresa Weipert: “At Maximus, we have experience with onboarding new employees and integrating their work into our overall culture. So that wasn’t new for us. We understand how to get the most of a transition and align the people we’re bringing on board with the people we already have in place. For VES, it was a smooth transition because there was a like-minded focus to deliver for customers.
The impact has been seen already, as we expanded our work with VA. There’s an excitement within Maximus that we’ll be working more with the VA, and it fits with our mission of helping the government better serve their citizens – especially when those citizens are veterans.”
Visit ExecutiveBiz.com’s Executive Spotlight Page to learn more about the most significant leaders of consequence to the government contracting (GovCon) and federal sectors and their experiences driving growth, new business and capabilities in the fiercely competitive federal landscape.
ExecutiveBiz: In terms of business development and processes, how have recent changes in telework and IT modernization efforts benefited the federal workforce to capitalize on the new tech capabilities we have available and prepare Maximus for the future of the federal sector?
Teresa Weipert: “The COVID-19 pandemic was hard on many companies because of remote work and security concerns, but it provided an opportunity for Maximus to showcase what we can do. Much of the work we do with agencies was never intended to be done off-site. Thanks to our people and our technology, we were able to quickly adjust. We have over 27,000 total active employees and were able to quickly relocate thousands of workers from onsite locations into remote workspaces with minimal interruption of our services.
How do we do it? We had to adjust to overcome the challenges posed by hardware, network capabilities, or security protocols. We had to work together to keep people engaged in the missions when they are physically apart from each other. We found a good balance, along with our agency colleagues, where individuals feel safe and can contribute to the mission in a secure manner remotely. So many people are talking about the future of the workforce, and I genuinely believe Maximus is one of the companies driving that future. We’ve established a hybrid work schedule between remote and in-office work that will likely become the norm across industries.
It’s hard to find a silver living through a pandemic, but we’ve found that our people have become more productive with this new hybrid model of work. We communicate more. We’re more comfortable with video calls and sharing content, while remaining secure. We’ve seen our metrics rise when it comes to our contracts, and it’s a sign that we’re doing something right.
Moving forward, the biggest challenge will be to continue securing information because of the extremely sensitive information that we manage for the work that we do. We must remain vigilant against the constant and evolving cyber threats.”
ExecutiveBiz: More recently, Maximus received IRS task orders to assist with the agency’s digital infrastructure. How are contracts/task orders like this going to help federal agencies expand their own capabilities to utilize tech such as cloud and others to modernize their business processes?
Teresa Weipert: “The IRS task order is an example of a trend I believe we’ll see in the federal technology space, as agencies rise to meet their IT modernizations challenges. By now, we are all aware of the importance that IT modernization and digital infrastructure have within agencies. Now, the focus is on how you quickly and dynamically achieve your modernization goals while improving the citizen experience without impacting the mission.
One thing that has stood out to me, and something that I think will fuel our growth in the years to come, is the notion of continuous modernization. The days of a start and endpoint for a modernization project are gone. Rapid changes in technology require an ability to respond to evolving requirements quickly. We are helping agencies develop IT infrastructure so they can take advantage of new technologies and requirements when they emerge and anticipate future changes.
Yes, it’s a significant challenge to constantly keep pace with innovation. But it’s also vitally important. If agencies are to keep up with the increased demand from citizens for government services, they need to utilize the latest and most effective technologies to ease the burden on everyday staff.
We’ve had some remarkable success with emerging technology, including aspects like robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence, machine learning, and more. We’re in the process of utilizing all this technology to free up our federal workforce and key players to focus on the bigger picture and develop more strategic viewpoints on how to effectively and successfully modernize.
At the end of the day, it’s about improving results by utilizing the best technologies available. That’s our path to success – the intersection of our people, our processes, and our technology.”
