John Boyle, group president of Defense and Civilian Solutions with Cherokee Federal, recently spoke with ExecutiveBiz for the publication’s latest Executive Spotlight interview detailing the company’s rapid growth in the government contracting (GovCon) sector and leadership style.
In addition, Boyle also discussed Cherokee Federal’s recent acquisition of Preting Consulting and the company’s push into the intelligence community as well as its work in the federal healthcare industry and continuing to differentiate itself in the highly competitive federal landscape.
“I am confident that by continuing to deliver exceptional results to our customers, leveraging our human capital, and continuing to be on the cutting edge of innovation, Cherokee Federal will continue to expand its presence in the federal space.”
You can read the full Executive Spotlight interview with John Boyle below:
ExecutiveBiz: Cherokee Federal’s businesses have more than quadrupled in size over the last decade. How would you describe the company’s growth in Government Contracting and how would you describe your leadership style and growth strategy to cement Cherokee Federal in the sector?
John Boyle: “The significant growth experienced at Cherokee Federal is attributed to our people and our ability to rapidly respond to customers’ mission critical needs. Internally, we have branded our commitment to exceeding expectations as the “Cherokee Standard.” Our ability to execute and align our services with customer objectives has given Cherokee Federal the competitive advantage to win contracts, expand our presence and quadruple the business.
Another key differentiator is that we support not only the Government’s mission but also that of the Cherokee Nation’s. As a tribally-owned organization, our mission is to diversify and grow the economy of the Cherokee Nation. Cherokee Federal’s profits support future business investments, as well as programs and services that better the health, education and create opportunities for tribal citizens.
As for my leadership style, I consider myself a transformational leader. I continuously look for ways to infuse innovation, establish best practices, and empower my team to lead and think big. I lead with a positive edge as I believe building up, guiding, and empowering teams to be leaders in their domains achieves the best results. This means that you spend time coaching and developing your people, guiding them, supporting them, and giving them the freedom to excel.
I also take pride in leading by example and bringing passion to everything I do. A leader who enjoys their work and motivates others sets an example for their team. I believe in the power of influence and teamwork. These are a few of the key reasons why my leadership style has contributed to many years of record-setting growth for the companies I have served, and why I have embraced the opportunity to lead the best talent on the planet at Cherokee Federal.
We look forward to what the future holds, and I am confident that Cherokee Federal will continue to achieve exponential growth through our ability to respond and execute rapidly.”
ExecutiveBiz: Congrats on the recent buy of Preting Consulting! What can you tell us about the acquisition and its impact on Cherokee Federal? How has the implementation of the company’s workforce also helped to drive Cherokee into the intelligence community?
John Boyle: “Thank you! This strategic acquisition was one of our highlights from 2021 and is part of our ongoing diversification and growth strategy. We anticipate the acquisition will substantially impact our market share, scope of business and competitive positioning.
By acquiring a leader in the intelligence community that provides support across operations, analysis, and training topics to successfully detect, identify and disrupt terrorist operations, insider threats, and others targeting vital U.S. interest, we have further expanded Cherokee Federal’s capabilities and opportunities for growth within the federal marketplace.
In addition, the acquisition has given us access to 150 employees, 90 percent of which are veterans, who specialize in their given fields. We now can leverage their expertise in multi-intelligence analysis, low-intensity conflict, homeland defense, force protection, counter-terrorism, show-of-force, special operations, and overseas contingency operations.
Having new experts enables us to expand our federal footprint and provides us with new intellectual capital for Cherokee Federal to continue its growth and our tradition of protecting America’s interest at home and abroad.”
ExecutiveBiz:Â There was a report in Dec. that said Cherokee Federal helps save 50K workforce hours with EHR deployment. What can you tell us about the importance of EHR deployment in the federal healthcare industry as well as the crucial aspects of operations and patient data that are impacting the medical field right now?
John Boyle: “The importance of EHR deployment in the federal healthcare industry is fourfold, as it improves healthcare efficiencies, lowers costs, enables better clinical decision-making, and enhances the patient care experience.
The deployment of the new health record to the military is just the first phase of this vital modernization effort. The implementation process lasts for several months and requires significant support from local resources. Cherokee Federal is honored and proud to support sites with the deployment activities so they can continue to balance patient care and EHR implementation.
As adoption of the common platform increases, more patient information will become readily available to providers that are treating a constantly moving patient population. Patients will no longer be responsible for porting their records from one care facility to the next, leading to fewer errors, less missed data, and an overall better patient and provider experience.
This is not a unique problem or solution to the federal space. Regardless of provider, access to patient data – and the security of that data – is a universal issue. This all becomes heightened when we are faced with unique circumstances, such as a global pandemic.”
ExecutiveBiz: How will Cherokee Federal continue to differentiate itself in the federal landscape to drive growth and develop innovative solutions for your customers in the new year? Any new markets, growth opportunities or core goals that you’d like to mention?
John Boyle: “Serving the short- and long-term needs of our government customers and delivering significant value while achieving overall business growth is of the utmost importance to all of us at Cherokee Federal.
“Clear differentiation in the marketplace is our ability to immediately support any agency’s most mission critical needs. Whether small or large contracts, the range of our past performance scales up to $1 billion programs.
As an 8(a) Native-owned organization, we can receive direct awards of upwards of $100M for Defense and $25M for Civilian programs, without a J&A. As a long-term partner to the government, we also have and are going after a host of GWAC vehicles that are enabling us to compete and win.
In 2022, we will continue to bolster our efforts in our core markets and capabilities in Health, Information Technology, Security, Humanitarian, and Intelligence, expanding into larger IT programs within Cyber, Analytics and Cloud programs.
Another expansion area of focus is Cherokee Federal as an anchor sub (high percentage workshare) to large contractors, enabling socioeconomic small business goal achievement. Our past performance is bar none and will enable strong evaluation on any competition.
I am confident that by continuing to deliver exceptional results to our customers, leveraging our human capital, and continuing to be on the cutting edge of innovation, Cherokee Federal will continue to expand its presence in the federal space.
The past 10 years of growth have marked our commitment to capturing market share in the federal space. As 2022 begins, we will continue to strive towards achieving new and ambitious targets of success.”