www.audi-autoblog.com/2007/11/17/sba-honors-s4-founder- -
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Published on: 1/1/2007
Last Visited: 12/4/2007
SBA honors S4 founder for defense sector deals Chandu Shah is the ultimate US Small Business Administration success story, and his track record with S4 Inc. has earned him the agency's 2007 Massachusetts ...
Audi AutoNews-SBA honors S4 founder for defense sector deals
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BURLINGTON, Mass. â Chandu Shah is the ultimate U.S. Small Business Administration success story, and his track record with S4 Inc. has earned him the agencyâs 2007 Massachusetts Minority Business Person of the Year award.
Shahâs Burlington-based S4 is an IT consulting business that focuses on the defense industry.
By utilizing a number of SBA and U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency programs, Shah has grown S4 into a flourishing business, winning government contracts that give special consideration to minority businesses.
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Shah, S4âs president and chief executive officer, is grateful for his SBA recognition and he attributes his winning of the award, not only to his companyâs success, but also to his support and active participation in SBA activities.S4 has been part of SBA programs for close to a decade and Shah now also works as a mentor for new companies that are beginning to work with the agency.A couple times a year, the SBA invites Shah to speak to new companies about his experiences with the organization.He also does several S4 open houses on a yearly basis for other SBA companies.
Shah has been involved with the Boston SBA for close to two decades. âThey know me well, they know my capabilities and all the things I have done in the past,â he said.
His enthusiasm for the governmentâs minority programs is also evident and Shah makes the perfect proponent of them. âThe SBA is one of the best things that can happen to a small business,â he said. âThe SBA has many, many programs that are available at no cost to the companies.â
Shah was recognized by the SBA and presented with his award by Massachusetts Gov.Deval Patrick at an event in late October; Shah also credited his wife Eeshani Shah, who manages S4âs corporate headquarters, as well as S4 vice presidents John Goss and Steve Kerns and chief of business development Kent Bartlett for his success.
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Next year, S4âs time in SBA programs will be up, but Shah is confident that the company is on good ground to move forward, despite the increased competition outside of the minority programs.
Over the years, S4 has established relationships with defense giants such as Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., The Boeing Co. and General Dynamics Corp., which Shah believes will help keep the contracts rolling in.
Overall, S4âs Air Force dominance will still provide the bread and butter of the companyâs work. âWe really focus on the Air Force.We are a 100 percent Air Force company and that has placed us in a very good position to expand within the Air Force,â he said.
Still, Shah is not resting on his laurels.He is currently in the process of launching a new division of S4 that will focus on what Shah believes is the hottest area of the defense industry â intelligence support.
âWe have concentrated on intelligence support and we see that as a very big, growing area,â Shah said. âThere is a lot more work being contracted out in the intelligence analyst area.â
âThis work is in billion-dollar contracts,â he added.
S4 has already connected with another consulting giant, Booze Allen Hamilton Inc., to secure work in the intelligence analysis sector.
According to Shah, the nature of intelligence analysis and support dictates smaller groups of workers, due to the sensitive nature of the data and the fact that many of the contracts require security clearance.This is what makes a company like S4 useful to a massive firm such as Booze Allen.
âIt is difficult to get into this area because it requires very, very specialized people and it is very difficult to get Department of Defense clearance,â he said. âBut right now we are known as a good intel company.â
Shah started S4 after seven years of working for Sumaria Systems Inc., an IT consulting firm that focuses on the defense industry, which gave him his first access to the industry.Shah has credited company head Vena Sumaria as his greatest mentor.
When S4 was first started in 1999, a subcontract with Sumaria Systems got the company off the ground.He then got involved with the SBA and its minority programs, which gave S4 and edge in bidding on some government contracts.
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