ESN Chief Operating Officer Doug Lopez Featured in The Washington Post Article
ARLINGTON, VA (August 10, 2015) – Douglas R. Lopez talks about his rise from serving in the U.S. Marine Corps to becoming a systems analyst and eventually the new Chief Operating Officer of Engineering Services Network, Inc. (ESN), in The Washington Post during a Q&A with writer Kathy Orton.
Engineering Services Network, Inc., an Arlington-based government contracting company, was founded in 1995 by Mr. Lopez’ father, retired Navy Cmdr. Raymond F. Lopez, Jr. ESN is a leading provider of professional engineering and technology services for military and government customers.
Doug Lopez served in the Marine Corps from 1989 to 1994. After leaving the service, he took a job with U.S. Robotics. Three years later, he joined ESN.
Here are some excerpts from the Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/former-marine-becomes-coo-at-esn/2015/07/04/b3bf1b1e-1f70-11e5-bf41-c23f5d3face1_story.html
What made you decide to enlist in the Marines?
I played a lot of football in high school. I had to make a decision whether to play football in college or join the Marine Corps. It was a tough decision. There were colleges that wanted me to play football. I’m not talking Division I, but I had an opportunity to play. Unbeknownst to my father, I decided to sign up for the Marine Corps. I wanted to be one of the best, and in order to be part of the best, you need to join the best, and that’s why I joined the Marine Corps.
What made you leave the Marines after five years and join U.S. Robotics?
I went on a deployment to Haiti, and when I got back, I ran across a job offering in Chicago. My wife and I had a long discussion about do I stay or do I go? We decided we should go. At the time, U.S. Robotics was a young company. They were competing against Motorola in the modem world. What was great was they hired a lot of former military personnel that had experience in this area to help with the quality side.
What did you do at U.S. Robotics?
I started with the quality management team. After the first year, they made me a team leader, responsible for the production line of modems. The year after that, I was promoted to the production management team. That’s where I learned a lot about how the technology business works and how U.S. Robotics interrelated with the big players, who at the time were Gateway and Dell, how we fit into their production cycle for computers.
Why did you leave?
U.S. Robotics was bought out a year prior to me leaving. It had nothing to do with the acquisition. Everything was going great in Chicago. The company was doing well. We were on the forefront of new technology. What happened was I got a call from my father. He had just retired from the Navy and decided to start a company. The military was integrating commercial IT equipment. ESN did not have that expertise within the company. The Navy did not have the expertise. So he asked me, ‘Hey, you know all this stuff. Why don’t you come work for me?’
Was there any hesitation going to work for your father?
There was. But he did the right thing for me. He started me at the bottom as a systems analyst. . . . It allowed me not only to learn from him and how he managed the company, but it also allowed me to learn from the people I work with how the industry works.
ESN started out focused on defense agencies. How has the company adapted to the contraction in federal spending?
About three or four years ago, we made the decision to change our strategy. . . . What we did was diverge into the federal market space so we were working with Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services. We were working with other federal agencies that we knew were going to get budget increases. That helped us maintain our revenue goals.
For the full story, visit The Washington Post at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/former-marine-becomes-coo-at-esn/2015/07/04/b3bf1b1e-1f70-11e5-bf41-c23f5d3face1_story.html
About Engineering Services Network, Inc.
ESN is a trusted leader in engineering and technology solutions. For 20 years, ESN has been proudly standing “Shoulder to Shoulder®” with our military and government customers, delivering critical services for missions that matter. ESN provides our military and government customers with mission-critical services in the areas of: professional management & systems engineering services; cyber security & information / mission assurance services; network design, integration, & data center consolidation services; enterprise IT ITIL & ITSM services; systems development & life-cycle services; health IT services; and acquisition services.
Based in Arlington, VA, ESN has regional and field offices throughout the U.S. and worldwide. Founded in 1995, ESN is ISO 9001:2008 certified and has achieved Software Engineering Institute’s Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Maturity Level 2 for Services v 1.3, and CMMI Maturity Level 3 for Development v 1.3.
ESN customer experience includes the VA, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command, Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies. Visit ESN at esncc.com. ESN is a VA-Certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.
In 2014, ESN ranked among HispanicBusiness.com’s 100 fastest-growing Hispanic-owned companies in the nation. In 2010, the Federal Times ranked ESN No. 53 among the contracting firms owned by service-disabled veterans that are contracting with the federal government.
ESN Company Contact:
Dennis Groh, Chief Marketing Officer at ESN
2450 Crystal Drive, Suite 1015
Arlington, VA 22202
Office: 703-412-3640, Mobile: 703-909-3914; DGroh@esncc.com
ESN Public Relations/Media Contact:
Carol Castaneda
Castaneda Global Communications for ESN
Office: 703-369-0414, Mobile: 703-863-9960; Castaneda@cgcprmedia.com
