Engility's defense group zeroes in on cybersecurity

The new chief of Engility's defense group is focusing the business on cybersecurity, training and systems engineering.

Scott Whatmough, a former Raytheon executive who took over the group earlier this year, told Inside Defense he's seeking to expand the company's expertise in key areas.

Engility, he said, has an extensive background in systems engineering work for the Navy, testing for the Army and cybersecurity for the Air Force.

Now, Whatmough said he sees more opportunity to bolster and extend that work to additional customers. For instance, Engility is positioning for two new cybersecurity programs of record: the National Cyber Range Complex program and the Persistent Cyber Training Environment effort.

The contractor is in the midst of shifting from a strategy focused on lowest-priced, technically acceptable work to a best-value approach.

Whatmough said the defense group still is working on some contracts won at the LPTA level and will be evaluating whether to recompete for those when they end.

"We'll probably have some no-bids," Whatmough said, though he added that he expects some contracts to shift from LPTA to best-value, meaning Engility might then participate.

"It'll take several years" to fully shift to what Whatmough dubbed the "Engility 2.0 portfolio."