Apr 5, 2022
DEI jobs can be taxing, but these tips will help make sure you’re ready.
Every once in a while, a calling comes to do something that will make a bona fide difference. Working in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) might just be that next thing.
The need for companies to embrace DEI is clear. Violence, injustice, and hate crimes against underrepresented groups of people are taking a toll on employees’ lives, increasing the demand for businesses to step up DEI efforts.
A Glassdoor survey found that 76% of employees and job seekers want to work for a company with a diverse workforce. And to their credit, companies are taking action.
DEI jobs are on the rise, which will go a long way in addressing the most pressing issues. According to the Washington Post, these issues include:
- Hiring a more diverse workforce
- Helping employees of color advance through the ranks
- Giving underrepresented workers more decision-making power
- Facilitating uncomfortable conversations about systemic racism
But as rewarding as these outcomes can be, the work is also taxing. People in DEI have to navigate complexities and take on challenges that are not easily fixable.
“DEI work can be like pushing a boulder up a hill, and it will continue to be that way until the larger societal changes,” said Gena Cox, Ph.D., a DEI expert.
So, how can you be sure you’re ready? We spoke with DEI experts on how to prepare for a DEI career.
Mentally Prepare for Your Role
Working in DEI often means being challenged to help your organization grow in the right direction. You might…
Plan initiatives to assemble a more diverse workforce
Lead tough conversations about discrimination that directly affect your coworkers
Help build trust and ease concerns wherever they might exist
Experts say that you should mentally prepare for what’s ahead to navigate these intense and changing demands and responsibilities.
Shelli Green, executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for Vectrus, explains:
“To be in a role like this, you have to be self-aware and willing to evaluate your approach and change quickly. In order to prepare for that, you have to have a strong sense of self. You will not be able to survive in a role like this without the mental fortitude to get through the topics that come up. You can’t shy away from them.”
Can You Be a Change Agent?
While it’s important to have the right skills and qualities for a DEI job, people from various backgrounds and careers can fit in. Social workers, policymakers, human resource managers, recruiters — all have carved out jobs in the sector.
Perhaps the bigger question is whether you can be a change agent for DEI, which requires constant learning, adapting, and persisting in pushing your organization’s DEI mission forward.
To figure this out, ask yourself questions like:
Am I committed to fostering and facilitating change?
Am I comfortable with conflict and challenging the status quo?
Am I able to move people from “where they are” to “where I need them to be”?
Todd Corley, senior vice president, inclusion, sustainability, and community at Carhartt, explains:
“I actually think that people from a variety of different majors/careers can make a transition into DEI roles. It really depends on who the person is and how curious they are as a learner…the DEI professional of the future is not limited to the career that they are already in. It’s a matter of walking toward the culture you want to create for all people.”
Network To Avoid Feeling Isolated
Despite an increase in DEI jobs over the past few years, the sector is still relatively new. Unlike other industries, DEI doesn’t have decades of knowledge, resources, and experience to rely on.
Instead, DEI professionals like Green are moving the industry forward by learning from each other. They discuss things like best practices, workable strategies, and realistic benchmarks.
A similar approach applies to people thinking about starting a DEI career. Experts agree that you should network to avoid feeling isolated. Seek out DEI professionals, ask questions, and learn from them.
Green explains:
“Networking has been very beneficial when the job feels isolating. Even though I have the support, and so many people are involved in wanting to see change in an organization, it is a lonely space for a DEI professional. Because there are times when no one wants to talk about a difficult topic, challenges with recruiting, and obtaining diverse talent.”
Mar 17, 2022
The Department of Defense has selected Vectrus (NYSE: VEC) to complete application development work for a 5G-based warehouse project at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego.
An assessment team for the NBC 5G Smart Warehouse project evaluated applications from Vectrus and two other companies as part of a down-select process during the initial phase and Vectrus said Wednesday it demonstrated the capability of a converged environment platform to address operational challenges facing Naval Supply Systems Command.
“The smart warehouse will serve as a test bed for refining, validating and operationalizing 5G-enabled technologies,” said Corinne Minton-Package, senior vice president of systems and technology at Vectrus.
Minton-Package added the 5G Smart Warehouse will facilitate the transshipment between naval units and shore facilities and the company’s work at NBC will help deliver efficiencies to naval logistics operations.
The company’s Converged Environment concept is designed to combine into a single environment base operations support, information technology and network operations, supply chain and logistics, security, digital integration and engineering services.
In October 2020, DOD made $600 million in awards to support 5G testing and experimentation projects with companies at five U.S. military installations and Vectrus was selected as an industry partner for one of the test sites.
Mar 9, 2022
By Ross Wilkers
Over the past few years, Vectrus has wired its strategy around what the company sees as an increasing convergence of government customer requirements in both the digital and physical worlds.
Which also means that what the clients asking of all their industry partners is getting more complex, which explains push for scale across nearly all corners of government services.
Vectrus adds scale through its agreement announced Monday to combine with The Vertex Company in an all-stock transaction that both companies expect to complete in the third quarter.
The combined company’s profile after the close has pro forma annual revenue at around $3.4 billion and a workforce of around 14,000 people. That breaks down to $1.8 billion and 8,100 employees from Vectrus, along with $1.6 billion and 5,700 staffers on the Vertex side.
Future revenue visibility is also seen in the combined $11.3 billion backlog, or roughly three years of sales to be realized later. A new name for the combined entity will be unveiled later this year, but the company will be headquartered in Northern Virginia.
Making the the most of the convergence of what Vectrus and Vertex can customers will determine how its revenue and future sales grow or even multiply.
During a conference call with investors Monday, Vectrus CEO Chuck Prow said the transaction’s goal is to create a leader across the operations and logistics, aerospace, training and technology segments of the government services market.
“We believe the scale and capabilities of the company creates technology-enabled platforms to deliver differentiated solutions across the converged environment,” said Prow, who will lead the combined company as chief executive after the close.
Vertex CEO Ed Boyington will join the company’s 11-member board of directors, of which six current Vectrus board members will be a part of along with five directors appointed by Vertex. An independent member of Vectrus’ board will serve as chairman.
Private equity firm American Industrial Partners acquired Vertex in 2018 from then-owners L3 Technologies and will own 62 percent of the combined company’s stock.
Colorado Springs-headquartered Vectrus’ focuses on training, equipment and rapid deployment support through its field operations and logistics services, The company has increasingly incorporated digital tools into the overall offering.
That convergence of physical and digital at Vectrus took hold after Prow joined as CEO in late 2016 after 12 years at IBM, which was followed by successive hires of other former Big Blue executives to help implement Vectrus’ strategy.
Vertex has gone through several iterations and different owners over four decades, but has also made a pivot of its own during that time.
A more recent example of Vertex’s shift is found in its acquisition late last year of the former Raytheon Technologies global training and logistics unit. It was Vertex’s first transaction with the backing of AIP.
ertex also integrates sensors and other augmenting technologies onto military platforms such as radars, and systems for shipboard and communication systems.
Prow cited the Cobra Dane radar and two of the Navy’s most sophisticated missile tracking platforms as examples of platforms that Vertex has supported.
The combination of Vertex with Vectrus also presents a different split of revenue than before when looking at both location and client type.
Whereas Vectrus’ sales were divided 68 percent and 32 percent in favor of outside the U.S., that swings to 58-42 in favor of inside the continental U.S.
Around 64 percent of Vectrus’ revenue last year came from work with the U.S. Army. That share reduces to 41 percent post-close given Vertex’s presence with the Navy, Air Force, foreign military sales customers and civilian agencies like NASA and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Goldman Sachs is acting as exclusive financial adviser to Vectrus. Law firms Skadden and Covington are acting as legal counsel. Vectrus was also advised by Ernst & Young and Wolf Den Associates.
RBC Capital Markets and Evercore are acting as financial advisors to Vertex. Law firms Jones Day, Baker Botts and Ropes & Gray are acting as legal counsel. Vertex was also advised by Fairmont Consulting Group.
Mar 8, 2022
Vectrus and the Vertex Company have reached a merger agreement to combine their service offerings in support of various defense sector needs.
The all-stock transaction will officially close in the third quarter of 2022 and is intended to create a more wide-ranging revenue stream in terms of locations, customers and contract types from the Department of Defense and other branches of government, the companies announced Monday.
Together, Vectrus and Vertex are expected to provide an arsenal of integrated services and full-lifecycle technological strategies primed to address national security and modernization obligations.
Currently, Vectrus specializes in base operations services, supply chain and logistics, information technology and security. Meanwhile, Vertex’s core capabilities include aviation maintenance, systems engineering and integration and training programs for both public and private sector clientele.
“This highly strategic transaction builds on both companies’ accomplishments over the last several years and significantly accelerates our ability to deliver converged solutions,” said Chuck Prow, CEO of Vectrus and an eight-time winner of the Wash100 Award.
Prow will become CEO of the combined organization once the deal officially closes. Vectrus’ current chief financial officer, Susan Lynch, will continue in this role for the new company while the remainder of the executive lineup will be populated by members of both companies.
Vertex CEO and President Ed Boyington commented, “Vertex and Vectrus share mission-oriented foundations and cultural alignment. By joining forces with Vectrus, we will be better positioned to help the Department of Defense and government agencies achieve their objectives, and in the process, create a stronger organization.”
The two companies’ combined assets amount to a pro forma revenue of about $3.4 billion and an Adjusted EBITDA of about $283 million for the 2021 fiscal year. The starting EBITDA margin profile will be 8 percent with expectations of growth.
There is also backlog amounting to $11.3 billion. After the merger is complete, Vertex shareholders have agreed to own 62 percent of the company while Vectrus shareholders will own about 38 percent.
A name for the new company will be decided when the deal closes in the third quarter of 2022. Headquarters will be based in northern Virginia.
