018: Charles Jones ­- Baltimore Powerhouse Commissaries

Today’s guest is Charles Jones. He started out in the mortgage industry back in 2008 until the market crash and everything’s shut down. It was during those difficult times that he formed his company C&S Jones group to start assisting with cleaning up all the abandoned properties on behalf of asset managers. Today his business looks very different and Mr. Jones is responsible for managing Military commissaries throughout four states. If you or anyone you know as part of the military family and you’ve probably heard of the commissaries before, that’s where you can purchase discount of groceries and other household goods for active duty, reserve, and guard members as well as their family members, which you probably didn’t know was the person behind the success of managing and maintaining them such as companies like C&S Jones Group headed by Mr. Charles Jones.

In today’s episode you will learn how do you continue to meet your HUBZone requirements while growing your business. How did Mr. Jones first learn about writing proposals? What is his win percentage to stay ahead of the curve and continue growing, his favorite books, training recommendations, and much more.

For show notes visit: https://govcongiants.org/podcast/

017: Alex Hernandez – Marine turned CEO builds a $50 Million Dollar National Construction Firm

Alex Hernandez founded Hernandez Consulting & Constructionin 2005 and currently serves as CEO and Chairman of the Board. Hernandez Consulting & Construction is a project management firm and general contractor specializing in design, construction, design-build and real estate development. Under Alex’s leadership, the firm has grown exponentially and now actively operates in a large portion of the United States.

The firm has been named to the Inc. 500/5000list six times and Alex was named Louisiana’s2017 Small Business Person of the Year. 

Alex began his career as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corpsspecializing in Logistics Operations. He has sat on the Board of Directors for the Veterans Services of America,Inc. and the TulaneAlumni Association. Alex is also Managing Partner of the New Orleans Redevelopment Fundand Albert Architecture. He holds both a BA Cum Laude and an MBA from Tulane University.

In this episode we discuss how he came to learn about government contracting How he began his career cleanup projects after Hurricane Katrina. How to be a great subcontractor, build great teaming arrangements, and how he raised capital for his firm.

I hope that his story inspired many people out there not to quit and to continue the fight because it is well worth the effort in the end. As he said when dealing with a time where others would have given up, he learned in the USMC that quitting simply was not an option.

For show notes visit: https://govcongiants.org/podcast/

016: Janetta Brewer ESQ – Government Contracts Compliance Expert ­

Today’s guest, Ms. Janetta Brewer, is the  owner of Blue Alchemy Consulting. She has an extensive federal contracting background, which includes roles with the Office of Secretary of Defense, US Navy, Defense Logistics Agency, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Air Force, Department of Homeland Security and in her last federal, she was a senior member of the Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy staff, which means she developed acquisition regulations and guidance for approximately 35,000 contracting professionals that streamline acquisition process across the federal government and improve contract execution outcomes for and in excess of $400 billion in annual contract spin.

In today’s episode, we discuss how heavily the government relies on industry to help with the process of implementing change to both the FAR and DFARs considering the impact from small businesses. We also discuss merges and acquisitions, False Claims Act, program office versus small business office.

For show notes visit: https://govcongiants.org/podcast/

015: Dee Kivett – Queen of Quality, CEO/President of Next Gen Supply Chain Integrators

Today’s guest, Dee Kivett is the CEO and president of NextGen Supply Chain Integrators. NextGen specializes in helping companies seeking certification to ISO 900 and 1345, AS 9100 and 9120, TS 16949 standards, as well as the rigorous requirements of Boeing.

Dee grew up sitting on tires at the race track watching her father and uncle, the world famous Wood Brothers, race their cars around the circuit. Maybe that’s where she picked up a keen appreciation of quality control. She is an adjunct professor at Clemson University specializing in design and manufacturing project management for the automotive industry. In today’s interview we discuss examples of why the government pays $75 for a screw and how a small firm can become certified to provide mission critical parts to the Department of Defense. I’d like to welcome Dee Kivett.

For Show notes visit: https://govcongiants.org/podcast/