WashBiz Blog

Signing Off For Now

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:51:59 -0500

The Washington Post is evaluating how best to use its resources to serve readers and has decided to discontinue the WashBiz blog for now. Previous postings will be available as an archive. We're committed to providing the best local business coverage of the Washington region. Keep an eye on our Local Business page for new features.

SAIC Announces New CEO is Walter Havenstein

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:17:38 -0500

San Diego-based Science Applications International Corp. announced this morning the retirement of its CEO Kenneth Dahlberg, who has been with the company since November 2003. "Consistent with the company's mandatory retirement policy for executive officers," Dahlberg will step down effective September 20, the science and technology contractor said in a statement. SAIC also confirmed Walter Havenstein, outgoing CEO of Rockville-based defense contractor BAE Systems, will take his place. BAE first announced the move yesterday, as you may have read in today's Post story. Under Dahlberg's leadership, SAIC transitioned from employee-owned to publicly traded and grew its annual revenues to $10 billion. SAIC is one of the region's biggest employers, with more than 17,000 workers in the Washington area. --Emma L. Carew

BAE Executive to Head SAIC

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:24:28 -0500

Walt Havenstein is stepping down after three years as chief executive of the Rockville-based U.S. arm of British defense contractor BAE to take that position at fellow contractor Science Applications International Corp. Retired Marine Gen. Tony Zinni, former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command, will be interim chief executive and chairman of the board at BAE Systems while the firm searches for a replacement for Havenstein, the company said. Zinni, the former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command, has sat on the board of BAE Systems for five years. Havenstein's resignation is effective Friday, BAE said. San Diego-based SAIC declined to comment on its chief executive position. Kenneth Dahlberg, 64, has been its chief executive since November 2003, led the company's transition from employee-owned to publicly traded, and grew its revenue to $10.07 billion. SAIC is one of the area's biggest employers, with more than 17,000 workers in

Early Briefing: Six Flags Shareholders

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:30:00 -0500

Six Flags filed for bankruptcy protection over the weekend, and shareholders including Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder and Bill Gates's Cascade Investment are likely to see their shares wiped out, according to a bankruptcy expert. Snyder has chaired the company since winning a proxy fight with Gates's support in 2005, and he owns about 6 percent of the shares. Those shares are likely to be worthless as the company pays off more senior creditors in anticipation of issuing new shares. The chief executive of Gannett is taking a temporary medical leave of absence, the company said. Gannett, which is based in McLean and publishes USA Today, said that Craig Dubow, who also serves as the company's chairman and president, is taking time off following back surgery. Gracia C. Martore, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will serve as the company's principal executive officer until Dubow returns to work,

Chindex Shares Up on Improved Results

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:47:25 -0500

Chindex International said this morning that fourth-quarter profit rose more than 70 percent, and it swung to a profit for the quarter. Fiscal 2009 revenue and profit were also up, as the Bethesda company sold more medical products and provided more health-care services in its market of China. Shares are up about 18 percent on the news so far today, trading around $12.70 as of 12:45 p.m. They went as high as $14.20 earlier today after closing yesterday at $10.79.

Area Leaders Oppose Say-on-Pay

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:21:44 -0500

Washington area business leaders and compensation analysts today expressed opposition to an Obama administration proposal designed to give shareholders more influence over pay for executives of all publicly traded companies. The proposal is aimed at reining in excessive compensation of corporate executives. "I don't think this is going to succeed," said Shub Debgupta, senior director of the Corporate Executive Board. Debgupta objected to a "say-on-pay" proposal that would empower shareholders to vote annually on whether an executive pay package should be approved. Companies would be required to forward the vote tallies to the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Historically, when shareholders have a say, it hasn't been a very strong voice one way or the other," Debgupta added. "Shareholders, while owners, know very little about the inner workings and risks and issues of the company." James C. Dinegar, president and chief executive of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, said he

Early Briefing: Autos' One-Man PR Machine

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:30:00 -0500

Jack Fitzgerald, owner of nine Washington area dealerships -- seven of which are on the chopping block by General Motors and Chrysler -- left his headquarters on Rockville Pike mid-morning yesterday, armed with a black bag, full of thick consumer reports, pie charts and line graphs on cars. In the past three weeks, he's been a virtual one-man PR machine, meeting with local and national politicians and blitzing the media, all in a desperate attempt to save his business. Fitzgerald was part of a small army of dealers who descended on Capitol Hill in hopes of putting pressure on the automakers and the U.S. government to back off plans to close more than 2,000 dealerships across the country. Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike spoke sympathetically of the dealers' plight, though it was unclear whether any relief was forthcoming. Despite a drop in metropolitan Washington's jobless rate, regional economists told business

Iridium Says Sales Grew, Profit Fell

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:07:55 -0500

Bethesda-based Iridium Satellite said first-quarter revenue grew 2 percent, to $75.8 million, while profit fell almost 42 percent, to $9.7 million. The company attributed the profit decline to expenses related to its next-generation satellite program. Iridium, a private company that provides voice and other communications services via satellite, said subscribers were up 31.2 percent from the year-earlier quarter. It expects to continue growing this year, though it said the economic downturn is affecting equipment sales.

New CFO for GeoEye

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:10:33 -0500

Dulles-based GeoEye named Joseph F. Greeves as its chief financial officer. He has previously held that post at companies including Managed Object Solutions, Lazard Technology Partners, and Opnet, which he helped lead through its initial public offering. Henry E. Dubois resigned as finance chief on Dec. 10, though he stayed on as a consultant through March 15. "Joe's experience in various industries relevant to GeoEye, such as visualization software and experience in international and government sales will be very helpful as GeoEye develops location-based information services for our customers," said chief executive Matt O'Connell in a statement.

Featured Advertiser

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:10:33 -0500

Early Briefing: Union Holds Campaign at Landover Wal-Mart

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:30:00 -0500

The United Food and Commercial Workers held organizing campaigns at several Wal-Mart stores across the country this week -- including one yesterday in Landover Hills -- as it renews pressure on the world's largest retailer to increase pay and improve health benefits. In the Washington area, union representatives said they have been responding to increased inquiries from workers. UFCW Local 400 spokesman Mark Federici said hundreds of Wal-Mart employees in the area have signed union authorization cards, but he declined to give a specific number. A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the federal government in the cancellation of a contract given to General Dynamics and Boeing to develop the A-12 Navy jet fighter, a federal appeals court said. Falls Church-based General Dynamics said in a filing last month that its after-tax charge would be about $780 million, or $2.02 a share, if it lost the case. The company

A Call for United Therapeutics

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:30:00 -0500

It wasn't a prank call that United Therapeutics President Roger Jeffs got at a conference. It was really from an Eli Lilly executive, who was interested in a partnership related to Cialis and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Read Mike Rosenwald's story of the opportunity it gave the Silver Spring biotech. In her weekly Download column, Kim Hart takes us to a symposium last week at the University of Maryland where government researchers, computer science professors and corporate financial analysts discussed how to organize and display data. How do you display flu outbreaks, cellphone call logs or senators' voting logs?

Cuisine Solutions to Halt Common Stock

Thu, 28 May 2009 13:24:38 -0500

Alexandria-based Cuisine Solutions said its board of directors has approved a plan to stop trading its common stock. The company said it's withdrawing its shares to avoid costs related to compliance under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and to focus on long-term value. Cuisine Solutions expects to save more than $800,000 a year because of the change. The board has proposed a 1-for-5,000 reverse stock split to reduce the number of shareholders of record to under 300, paying out shareholders who own fewer than 5,000 shares $1.30 per share. The split will be submitted to stockholder consideration at a special meeting to be held in its fiscal first quarter. Shares were trading up more than 20 percent this afternoon, at $1.13. They traded as low as 47 cents a share in December and were over $2 a year ago.

AOL to Be Spun Off

Thu, 28 May 2009 11:05:30 -0500

It's (almost) really over: Time Warner said this morning that it will buy up the 5 percent of AOL that's owned by Google and then spin off the company. The independent AOL will be led by CEO Tim Armstrong, who came from Google in March. The struggling AOL advertising and dial-up unit will face life as a standalone, public company, separated from its 2001 merger partner. Any readers have thoughts on the end of that marriage?

Comstock CFO Leaves

Wed, 27 May 2009 17:54:18 -0500

Reston-based Comstock Homebuilding said that former finance chief Bruce Labovitz is no longer with the company. He's being replaced by chief accounting officer Jeff Dauer on an interim basis. Here's the statement from CEO Christopher Clemente: "I believe Jeff's considerable accounting and finance background, his track record of generating accurate and timely quarterly and annual reports for Comstock over the past several years, and his thorough understanding of Sarbanes Oxley and the accounting issues relative to our industry make him well suited for this role at Comstock Homebuilding Companies. Effective immediately I will be working directly with our lenders in an effort to develop a solution that is a win-win for all parties in hopes of finding common ground that affords Comstock Homebuilding Companies an opportunity to continue operations."

Greater Atlantic Financial in Talks With Potential Buyer

Wed, 27 May 2009 16:22:40 -0500

Greater Atlantic Financial of Reston said in a regulatory filing that it received a notice from its regulator directing it to find new capital or sell its assets and liabilities by July 31. The bank said that as of March 31 it was "significantly undercapitalized." It has been operating under restrictions from the Office of Thrift Supervision since April of 2008. Chief executive Carroll Amos said the company is talking to an "interested third party" about buying it. "We believe that the sale can be accomplished in the time allotted by the OTS," he said.