Andy Reed
“At the end of the day, it’s all about delivering the right solutions and technologies to help our customers achieve mission success.”
At the recently-held Border Security Expo 2018 in San Antonio, Texas, industry leaders, partners, sponsors and business professionals came together to stoke coals in addressing how transnational criminal organizations are redefining our nation’s borders. To comment on border security and what Peraton is doing to find solutions previously thought impossible, ExecutiveBiz exchanged emails with Jeremy Wensinger, Chief Operating Officer at Peraton, to get an in-depth look at what is really happening with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, DHS and ICE.
EM: Jeremy, you’ve been overseeing the day-to-day performance of Peraton’s global business operations for nearly a year now. What does an average day look like?
J. Wensinger: For me, every day is an opportunity to envision a future enriched by the past. I was named COO in June of 2017, but my roots with the business run deep. For nearly a year prior, I was involved with the spin-off of the stand-alone entity. And, I spent the first 20 years of my career in a progression of leadership roles with one of the antecedent companies. So I was well prepared to take on the challenge of concurrently running and transforming business operations at Peraton. We’ve covered so much ground since, launching the brand, establishing our strong executive team of industry veterans, aligning our functional and business leads in building-out a robust infrastructure to propel our opportunity-rich future. The bottom line for me every day is to advance our mission partnership with our customers and elevate our standing as an employer of choice for the best and brightest.
You recently attended the Border Security Expo in San Antonio, Texas to speak on a Procurement Panel about the DHS, CBP, ICE. What can you tell our readers?
When asked to participate on this panel, I was honored. Border security is a core component of our national security. The complexity of today’s environment surpasses that of any era in our history. And our approaches to border security must embrace and integrate ever-advancing technologies to be effective.
Through programs like Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) and the recently-awarded Transportation Security Administration Integrated Logistics Support contract, Peraton is focused on being a leader in the national security market. Our capabilities, contracts and customer focus, as well as our mix of technology and science, empower us to challenge traditional approaches and to provide reliable, value-based, innovative solutions to our nation’s most sensitive and mission-critical programs and systems.
One of the successful things you are known for is driving Peraton’s performance by ensuring the alignment of the company’s staffing, capital deployment, and overall strategic management. What have you found that works? What doesn’t?
To thrive in today’s tech-centric always-on global environment demands agile change management–to not only adapt to evolving conditions, but to help shape the business environment in a cost-effective way. Transparency is also essential to foster and sustain trust – with your customers and employees. Companies often pay a lot of lip service to the concept of “inclusion,” but Peraton has the opportunity to build it into our culture from the very beginning. We need to draw people in with the common desire to contribute to something significant. Peraton’s vision captures what it means to be with us – the company national security customers rely on to solve their most daunting challenges, create solutions supporting their most vital missions, and manage their most valued assets. You have to show the same level of commitment you expect from others, and deliver on your promises.
As far as Peraton’s growth trajectory, where do you see the company driving mission success?
As a 125 year-old start up, the company’s heritage has empowered our ability to operate in a rapidly changing, risk-intensive world, where the success of each customer’s mission and the security of our nation are our reason for being. We embrace transformational change and will continue to differentiate from other contractors in several ways. The company is committed to continued investment in emerging warfighter domains including: space, cyber, and intelligence with a sharp focus on strategic technology development, business development and pipeline expansion in priority areas to grow organically. I’m sure you have also heard our CEO Stu Shea speak to our execution of corporate strategy including M&A opportunities. At the end of the day, it’s all about delivering the right solutions and technologies to help our customers achieve mission success.
***
Jeremy Wensinger’s career reflects significant contributions in driving top-line and bottom-line improvements across the board. He most recently served as principal at Augusta Management Strategies, following that of his tenure as President of National Security Solutions Division at PAE. Wensinger was previously Chief Operating Officer at GTSI, which he successfully sold after turning the company around with improved profitability for the first time in five years. He spent nearly two decades advancing in roles with new challenges and responsibilities within various divisions of Harris Corporation, including that of President of IT Services business and Group President of the Government Communications Systems division.
