Bill Milligan, High Performance Technologies, Inc.
Company: High Performance Technologies, Inc., Reston, VA
Company Description: Founded in 1992, High Performance Technology, Inc., designs IT solutions that help our federal customers protect America’s safety and prosperity. Our experts use applied science, performance-based architecture, and systems engineering to help our customers achieve the results they need. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, HPTi has over 240 employees in sites across the country.
Nomination Category: Management Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Finance Executive of the Year
Nomination Title: Bill Milligan, Chief Financial Officer
Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since January 1 2010 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:
In 2010, the U.S. economy, which has shed nearly 8.4 million jobs since 2007, suffered an unemployment rate of nearly 10%. What’s more, our nation was facing two military campaigns and a growing national debt, forcing federal technology companies, such as High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi), to do more for less for their government clients. Despite the harsh business conditions, Bill Milligan, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of HPTi, guided the company to solid gains through strong and ethical financial leadership.
Leadership: Bill, leading a team of accounting, financial, and systems
professionals, helped HPTi to post 8.7% service revenue growth while
competitors delivered only 8.0%. The industry averaged 6.6% profits, but HPTi
delivered 8.5%.With Bill in the financial driver’s seat, HPTi won nearly $200
million in new contracts in 2010, while growing a backlog of over $480 million.
The industry considers 24 months of revenue in backlog a healthy measure; HPTi
ended 2010 with over 5 years of backlog. In June, HPTi was awarded a $115
million contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans
Relationship Management program, which is guiding the VA on its next generation
of IT solutions to provide world-class services to U.S. Veterans. This is the
third consecutive year the company has won a contract of over $100 million—
fueling future growth. More recently, the company was one of only 33
contractors selected for a Total Information Processing Support Service-4
contract, an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract under the IRS
with a ceiling of $6 billion over 10 years. Bill was responsible for creating
the pricing strategy that ultimately contributed to all of these wins.
Dedication to Ethics: Part of Bill’s success during what are challenging times
for many in the industry is his understanding of the importance of combining
sound fiscal principles with strong ethical performance. As the company’s
Compliance Officer responsible for all business practices, Bill ensures that
all contracts, subcontracts, and organizational agreements are properly
executed. As a direct reflection of Bill’s ethical financial leadership, HPTi
was honored with the 2009 American Business Ethics Award—the only mid-sized
company in the country to receive this honor. Bill helped create a company that
boasts a very strong foundation of process, quality, and ethics. This mix has
the added benefit of fostering a strong work environment. In 2010, Virginia
Business magazine named HPTi as #8 on their Best Places to Work in Virginia.
HPTi was the top-ranked technology services firm.
Results: Milligan’s work has not gone unnoticed. He won the SMART CFO Award in
2008. He is one of the top CFOs to watch in 2010 according to ExecutiveBiz
magazine. He is also a finalist in the Smart CXO awards program. In addition,
HPTi was also recently recognized for its exceptional growth, moving up 250
spots on the fourth annual Inc. 5000 list thanks to revenue growth spearheaded
by Bill Milligan’s solid fiscal leadership. HPTi’s success has not come without
challenges, but Bill’s efforts make sure that HPTi thrives in good times and
bad.
List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
10 CFOs to Watch in 2010
http://blog.executivebiz.com/2010/01/ten-cfos-to-watch-in-2010-bill-milligan-hpti/
Washington Business Journal's Award for CFO of the Year for a small government
contractor
http://www.hpti.com/news.php?year=2007
HPTi wins VRM contract
http://www.pmforum.org/blogs/news/2010/06/USDepartmentofVeteransAffairsAwardsMProgram.html
Smart CXO Awards Finalist
http://www.smartceo.com/ Page 54 of Washington issue
HPTi Annual Report (Growth Numbers)
http://www.hpti.com/downloads.php
TIPSS 4 Contract Win
http://fcw.com/articles/2010/12/31/irs-announces-tipss-4-winners.aspx
American Business Ethics Award
http://www.financialpro.org/foundation/abea/pastrecipients.htm
INC. 5000 List
http://www.inc.com/inc5000/profile/high-performance-technologies
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:
Bill Milligan has over 30 years’ experience in finance positions of increasing
responsibility and over 20 years’ experience as CFO. He oversees the
accounting, finance, and corporate systems groups for HPTi. Bill joined HPTi in
2002 as CFO. He has seen company revenues more than quadruple and the employee
count triple under his watch. For the last 15 years, Bill has coached youth
lacrosse for the Fairfax Police Youth Club. Bill has led innovations in
reporting, manager-level profit responsibility, and metrics. He has led HPTi to
unprecedented financial success (organic growth of over 15% year over year).