Case Study 3: Capture & Proposal Leadership

Role: Strategic Program Manager – GDIT, MetroStar, & Agile Defense
Timeline: 2021–2025
Customer Focus: U.S. Army, DoD, Federal Acquisition Programs

Challenge / Mission

Competing in the federal acquisition environment requires more than compliance—it demands strategic foresight, competitive intelligence, and compelling proposals that resonate with customer missions. Both MetroStar and Agile Defense sought to strengthen their competitive positioning and secure long-term DoD contracts amid an increasingly crowded market.

The challenge: develop compliant, compelling submissions that could shape requirements, influence customer decisions, and increase probability of win (PWin) on high-value opportunities totaling more than $1B.

Approach / Actions

I applied Shipley-based capture and proposal methodologies to guide opportunity shaping, win strategy development, and proposal execution from start to finish.

Key actions included:

Win Strategy Development: Partnered with business development teams to create targeted win themes, aligned solutions with Army mission priorities, and conducted price-to-win (PTW) analysis.

Capture Leadership: Directed capture and proposal efforts for pursuits worth $750M+ at MetroStar and $350M+ at Agile Defense, shaping customer requirements through RFIs, white papers, and compliance responses.

Proposal Execution: Managed proposal kickoffs, compliance matrices, content schedules, and internal reviews, ensuring submissions were FAR/DFARS compliant and competitive.

Team Integration: Brought together SMEs, pricing analysts, and subcontractors to integrate technical, operational, and cost volumes into cohesive submissions.

Basis of Estimate (BOE): Directed development of BOEs and staffing plans, balancing compliance with cost competitiveness—delivering one staffing plan that came in $5M under PTW without sacrificing mission capability.

Orals Leadership: Guided orals delivery for a $188M Army pursuit, presenting technical and operational solutions directly to evaluation panels.

Customer Engagement: Represented companies at DoD industry events, strengthening relationships with acquisition offices and influencing procurement strategies.

Results / Impact

These efforts significantly improved competitiveness and secured tangible wins:

Increased PWin by 20% across multiple pursuits through win theme alignment and competitive pricing strategies.

Helped secure an $8M Army ICoE contract and shaped competitiveness on opportunities exceeding $175M.

Delivered compliant submissions on multi-award IDIQs valued at $10B+, ensuring long-term access to Army and DoD work.

Positioned Agile Defense for growth through capture leadership on $350M+ in DoD opportunities, including a staffing solution that outperformed PTW benchmarks.

Strengthened internal proposal processes by establishing compliance frameworks, SOPs, and repeatable workflows that reduced cycle time and improved quality.

The Veteran Edge

My 23 years of Army leadership gave me the ability to see proposals not just as paperwork, but as mission strategies. By applying military-honed discipline, clear communication, and a collaborative leadership style, I unified diverse technical, pricing, and BD teams under a single mission: winning work that delivers value to the warfighter. This blend of discipline, strategy, and execution consistently turned opportunities into awarded contracts.