Parsons COO says federal-infrastructure combination has eliminated stovepipes

Nearly a year after Parsons combined its federal and infrastructure businesses, the contractor's chief operating officer says the move has benefited both units.

"We have the ability to share technology across the entire company, and there are no stovepipes anymore," Carey Smith told Inside Defense from Parsons' Centreville, VA, office.

As an example, Smith said the federal unit's expertise in artificial intelligence and data analytics has proven useful to the infrastructure unit's technology for "smart cities."

Conversely, some of the connectedness in Parsons' smart cities work within the infrastructure business has applications for federal agencies such as the FBI, she said.

Meanwhile, Smith said Parsons is now completing the integration of Polaris Alpha, which it purchased last year.

Because Polaris Alpha was itself created through multiple acquisitions, Smith said Parsons needed to grapple with different human resources plans, benefit packages and IT systems, even within the single company.

Smith said Parsons remains interested in acquisitions but will stay focused on its core markets of cyber, space, missile defense and intelligence.

She also said she’s sees opportunities for Parsons to expand its work with the Navy and Air Force, noting it already has a large presence with the Army and the Missile Defense Agency.

The company partnered with PAE to pursue a spot on the Army's LOGCAP V program and were awarded U.S. Southern Command. While legal battles are underway over LOGCAP, Smith said any new work from the program will be "upside" given that the company wasn't an incumbent on the prior version.

"We're waiting to see the outcomes," she said of the legal battles, but "anything's new work for us."

Smith also noted she sees significant growth opportunity in the Pacific region.