DSFederal is pleased to welcome Robert Browning as Vice President of Operations. Bob has over 30 years of experience in technical leadership and management of high-performance teams. His experience includes strategy, organizational re-design, business development, line management, business operations, customer support, systems integration, program/project management and supply chain management; and he is recognized by his peers as an operational security expert.
Bob, whose father was a mining engineer in western Pennsylvania, describes himself as “a son of a white-collar engineer in a blue-collar town.” In 1979, Bob was studying mining engineering at Penn State, and had plans to enter his father's profession. However, as the mining industry began to feel the effects of the economic and cultural shifts of the late 1970s, Mr. Browning urged his son to rethink that decision, and to change his major. But when the American embassy in Tehran was seized by militants, who took American hostages, Bob left Penn State altogether, and enlisted in the United States Marines.
“I thought I was going to die,” he says, recalling his 12 weeks of basic training at Parris Island. He survived, though, and spent his first year as a Marine in Pensacola, Florida, studying cryptography. After four years aboard Navy vessels as a Marine cryptographic officer, Bob followed his wife, a Navy officer, to Fort Meade, where he put his cryptographic skills to work as an analyst with the National Security Agency. From NSA, Bob joined General Dynamics, building a 25-year career that included management and executive positions serving the company’s DOD and Intelligence Community operations.
Like DSFederal Founder and CEO Sophia Parker, Bob believes that “success is built on taking care of people.” He achieved great success as an executive of a large corporation, but small company energy and innovation appealed to his entrepreneurial spirit. Although big companies can do big things, their focus on shareholder value can turn them into what he calls “monoliths of mediocrity,” while small companies like DSFederal allow creative business and technical minds to thrive. Bob’s strong dedication to country and service make him a perfect fit for DSFederal; and the IDEA (Integrity, Deliver Results, Everyone Matters, Always Honor Our Word) philosophy aligns perfectly with his own values and people-first ethos.