 |
 Company: Wu Consulting, LLC
Entry Submitted By: Gary E. Shumaker, Inc.
Company Description: Founded by Dr. Mary Wu, Wu Consulting LLC (WuC) is a small, minority, woman-owned information technology assurance services company headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. WuC provides independent verification and validation, quality assurance, program management office support and computer system security certification and accreditation services.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Turnaround of the Year
Nomination Title: WuC Does Quick Turnaround
Describe for the judges the financial or operational turnaround achieved by the nominated company
during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):
After four years as struggling start-up company, Dr. Mary Wu made the decision
at the end of 2005 that 2006 would be the year of change for her company. She
invested heavily in the company and drove relentlessly for the changes that would
mean growth. She put large measures of her time and energy into the firm. She
sought out and invested in the highest quality of human talent to ensure the
product would support her growth objectives.
Dr. Wu’s vision and dedication the driving force that made emerge from that year
Wu Consulting, LLC as one of the nation’s premier Independent Verification and
Validation companies. It was her valuable autonomous oversight of major software
development projects for the U.S. Government and private industry that ensured
the turnaround. It was her exceptional strategic and analytical talents inspired
unparalleled discipline and strong results, through this period of explosive growth—
and amid significant challenges.
Highlights of the 2006 turnaround included growth that almost doubled the number
of staff working with the firm, from 10 in 2005 to 19 in 2006. Other metrics of
her firm’s performance are equally impressive; she quadrupled the number of clients
served by the firm in 2006 over the 2005 numbers. To achieve this growth, she
tripled the number of proposals submitted. She recognized the value of teaming
with other companies to pursue work, signing three teaming agreements in 2006 in
comparison with zero the previous year, aligning her small company with large
federal government prime contractors for work for the Department of Homeland
Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
These dramatic improvements have contributed to WuC’s profitability—among the
industry’s best. In addition, Dr. Wu engineered WuC’s operational approach,
implementing methodologies associated with the Carnegie Mellon University’s
Software Engineering Institute Configuration Maturity Model Integrated, by moving
toward documented and repeatable processes and industry-recognized
certification.
Together, these initiatives have maintained the company’s outstanding customer
satisfaction and employee effectiveness metrics. This is not just based on
internal evaluations; Dun & Bradstreet’s Open Ratings survey calculates company
performance scores using a sophisticated algorithm that takes into account the
amount of information available on a supplier, the recency of the information, and
the accuracy of the raters. Ratings range from 0 to 100. WuC received a
summary performance rating of 97, indicative of future performance.
A passionate and proven leader, Dr. Wu is actively committed to her company, but
she is also a community leader. She is active in the Armed Forces
Communications-Electronics Association (AFCEA) and the Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In addition to these largely technical
affiliations, she participates actively in organizations that contribute to the
understanding and relationships between government and industry, such as the
Industry Advisory Council (IAC). In addition, she strongly supports organizations
with purposes of extending opportunities in technology and business for women
and girls, such as the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce.
List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:
http://garyeshumaker.com/watch.htm
http://www.govworks.gov/vendor/details.asp?vendorId=2442
http://www.govworks.gov/vendor/details.asp?vendorId=2442&vendorName=AC-Sidn
Provide a brief biography of the person or persons who lead the nominated company (up to 100 words):
Dr. Wu is president of Wu Consulting LLC, an information technology services
company in Arlington, Virginia. Wu Consulting provides software independent
verification and validation, and computer system security certification and
accreditation services in support of government, and private industry clients.
Previously, she worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG, involved in
custom software development projects. She has been an adjunct professor in
computer science at the Georgetown University and University of Maryland
University College. She holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science from
Tunhai University, Taiwan, and a master's and a doctorate in computer science
from the George Washington University.
|
