From Executive Biz Magazine
Executive Spotlight with Bob Morgan

Interview with Bob Morgan conducted by JD Kathuria.

Bob Morgan
CEO
MorganFranklin

In the 08/03/2006 edition of ExecutiveBiz we had a chance to catch up with Bob Morgan, CEO of MorganFranklin.

Bob Morgan has humble beginnings growing up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. He is now the CEO of MorganFranklin Corporation, a rapidly growing company in the government and commercial space based in Tysons Corner. In an exclusive interview, we discuss the future of the company, what it is like to work with his brother, and how we got involved with the Wounded Warrior Tournament on September 13th.

ExecutiveBiz: How did you get started with MorganFranklin?

Bob Morgan: Rob Franklin and I worked for a DoD engineering activity and our career paths reached their peaks. We had a decision point, either leave the government to work for a systems integrator or take a gamble and start our own company. We were pursuing our MBAs and it dawned on us that we had the ability and reputation to start our own company. We asked my brother Ron to join us as CFO to create a systems integration company to support the Federal Government. We started out in 1999 supporting the White House Communications Agency and Ron provided financial advisory services to Concert, a joint venture between AT&T and British Telecom providing global telecommunication services. This was the beginning of our diversification which has led us to where we are today, a professional services company providing a comprehensive array of business advisory, management consulting and technology integration solutions to government and commercial clients.

ExecutiveBiz: What is the business model of MorganFranklin?

Bob Morgan: Information is at the heart of our business model. We provide solutions that improve reliance upon, access to and competitive use of information across core operations and support functions of IT and finance. We’ve integrated expertise across business advisory services that provide confidence through controls, management consulting services that provide innovation through information, and technology services that deliver secure information in a global environment.

ExecutiveBiz: How many employees? How does it compare with last year?

Bob Morgan: We currently have 200 employees located mostly here in the national capital region, but with a recent acquisition we now have employees in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Cleveland with offices in Tysons Corner, Waldorf Maryland, and two locations in Chicago. Last year at this time we had about 100 employees so we have grown quite a bit in the last 12 months and expect to hire quite a few more people by the end of this fiscal year.

ExecutiveBiz: What do each of the business units within the company do?

Bob Morgan: Our Advisory Group provides risk management, financial advisory, and accounting outsourcing solutions. Specific service offerings include regulatory compliance support such as Sarbanes-Oxley, accounting and audit support, internal and external financial reporting, internal audit services, IT audit and technology risk services and business process outsourcing of finance related functions.

Our Consulting Group enables greater levels of organizational performance through services such as business process management, enterprise program management, business intelligence services such as reporting strategy, design and implementation, data management, and IT strategy.

Our Technology group designs, delivers and maintains technology solutions such as converged networks, mobile/transportable solutions, and secure wireless solutions. We also provide continuity of operations solutions and planning, operation, maintenance and other life cycle support services of these solutions, infrastructure services and integration of information management solutions such as knowledge management and records management.

ExecutiveBiz: What is the mix between government and commercial in terms of both employees and revenues.

Bob Morgan: I can’t really define the number of employees that work on government or commercial projects. Our staff is very flexible and has the ability to work on both. 55% of our revenue comes from the commercial sector and 45% from the government sector.

ExecutiveBiz: What are some of the hot trends you are tracking in the government contracting space?

Bob Morgan: Based on the work that we have performed on the Presidential Communications Upgrade program, we are focused on providing mobile/transportable converged voice, video and data systems that connect global users with multiple layers of security. This has applications in the Federal, State and Local first responder community, Intel and Special Forces community and even in the private sector. On the advisory side, we are focused on OMB A-123 which is Sarbanes-Oxley for the Federal government providing internal controls assessment and IT security assessments.

ExecutiveBiz: How do you compete against the large system integrators?

Bob Morgan: In this business everyone is a potential partner or a potential competitor depending on the agency we are marketing. We haven’t achieved the size where we are competing on a regular basis with the large system integrators and bidding on the very large multi year service contracts as a prime. Hopefully that day will come very soon. In the interim we subcontract with the large integrators on these large contracts. When we do compete against the large integrators on the smaller opportunities, we focus on providing a higher quality of service, a higher level of experience, flexibility and quick response.

ExecutiveBiz: What is like working with your brother as a business partner?

Bob Morgan: This is a question I have been asked countless times because most people think it impossible to work with a sibling. Ron and I have been best friends since growing up together in a small farming community in PA. We always agreed that if there was an opportunity to start a business we would ask each other. Our father and grandfather each had their own small business so it seemed very natural. We work very well together because we share the same business philosophy and values, yet we have different backgrounds. I am a total optimist and he is a bit more conservative so it helps to balance out our outlook. One of the major reasons we have been so successful is that Ron and I and Rob Franklin, the third founder and COO, each have different strengths and weaknesses allowing us to focus on what we do best.

ExecutiveBiz: Why did you get involved with the WWP?

Bob Morgan: When we at MorganFranklin became aware of the WWP, it really struck a cord with us. A large portion of our business is focused in the Federal and DoD market and approximately 35% of our employees have military backgrounds and have served in the first and second gulf wars. An organization like WWP that is focused on supporting our wounded veterans really connects with our beliefs that all of our veterans are heroes that should be honored.

ExecutiveBiz: What are the objectives of the WWP and what do they do with the money that is raised?

Bob Morgan: The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) was founded 2 years ago by John Melia on the principle that veterans are our nation's greatest citizens. WWP differentiates itself from other organizations assisting service members by devoting their resources to assisting the severely wounded. The WWP helps to ease the burdens of the wounded and their families, aid in the recovery process, and smooth their transition back to civilian life. WWP fills this vital, unmet need, bringing comfort, support, and aid to severely injured service members and their families during this challenging time in their lives. Their aim is to raise public awareness and enlist aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, to support them in providing aid and assistance to each other, and to provide unique programs and services that directly meet their needs.

ExecutiveBiz: How big is the tournament?

Bob Morgan: MorganFranklin founded the tournament last year and we had about 120 golfers and raised $20,000. This year’s golf tournament is going to be twice as big and we hope it will raise two to three times the amount of money for the WWP. It will take place on September 13, 2006 at The Courses at Andrew’s Air Force Base. Tee time is 2:00 pm on two courses and we anticipate over 200 golfers. Details about the tournament can be found on the tournament website at golf.morgan-franklin.com.

ExecutiveBiz: What is something most people don’t know about you?

Bob Morgan: I grew up milking cows on a dairy farm and I am a cancer survivor so I am just very thankful to be a part of MorganFranklin and doing this interview.