CEO Ray Lopez Shares ESN's Success Story at Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Conference in Newport, R.I.

ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Raymond F. Lopez, Jr., CEO of Engineering Services Network, Inc. (ESN) in Arlington, Va., was the key speaker during the morning session at the Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business 7^th Annual Matchmaking Event and Training Conference in Newport, R.I.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131217/NE34209)

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Newport hosted the program at the Naval Station Newport Officer's Club. The recent event was sponsored by the Rhode Island Procurement and Technical Assistance Program (RI PTAC) in collaboration with the National Contract Management Association, and the Newport County (R.I.) Chamber of Commerce.

In an inspirational speech, Mr. Lopez provided encouragement and shared his company's track to success.

"When we first started out in 1995, we started with a single $25,000 Navy purchase order that eventually led to $51.2 million in revenue," said Mr. Lopez, a 29-year Navy veteran who retired as a full Navy Commander.

He transformed ESN from a Navy-centric company to a leading IT provider to the Navy and other federal agencies. 

Mr. Lopez was able to complete the process for 8(a) certification through the SBA in 1998. "Once you receive your 8(a) certification, seek out strategic partners who have similar market offerings and who will take the time to work to improve your businesses processes," he said. "That's a real key to success down the road."

He advised companies to compete for contract vehicles that provide potential customers the  benefits of their current contracts, thereby providing a faster small business process and lower cost for the same services to those potential customers.  "For large critical pursuits, seek a Mentor-Protégé relationship," he said.

Early on, ESN entered into a Mentor-Protege partnership with Anteon.   ESN received the DoD's prestigious Nunn-Perry Award for its revenue gains and superior business maturity achieved during their Mentor-Protege relationship with Anteon.

Speakers included:

• Stephen Stewart, Deputy Competition Advocate/Small Business Advocate Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWCDIVNPT).
• Seth Goodall, U.S. Small Business Administration, New England.
• Michelle Gardner-Ince, Director of the VA Center For Verification and Evaluation.

About Engineering Services Network, Inc.
ESN is a leader in engineering and technology solutions. ESN provides military and government customers  mission-critical services in: 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 offices in 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.

Customer experience includes the VA, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command, HHS and other agencies. ESN: esncc.com.  ESN is a VA-Certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business.

CONTACT: Carol Castaneda, 703-369-0414, [email protected]

SOURCE Engineering Services Network, Inc. (ESN)