L. Frank “Smokey” Field serves as the Chairman and CEO of PerformanceNet Management Group, LLC as part of his larger role as Chairman and CEO of American Operations Corporation and managing member of a number of AOC subsidiaries. Mr. Field founded American Operations Corporation in 1983 as an entrepreneurial team of business development professionals focused on the rapidly expanding opportunities in the government services market specific to the Department of Energy. Mr. Field has earned a reputation as an innovator consistently obtaining an edge for his clients. He is an energetic builder of successful coalitions through teaming and joint venturing in new or expanding markets.
Over the firm’s 30-year history, Mr. Field has expanded the firm’s business focus beyond business development services where today American Operations Corporation also provides contract operations services to industry and government in the Information Technology, National Security, Base Operations, Energy and Intelligence communities.
Mr. Field joined the Federal Energy Administration as Associate Assistant Administrator for Operations of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves and its successor agency, the US Department of Energy where he directed all operations of the 750 million barrel reserve. Mr. Field began his career as a Supply Corps Naval Officer serving on the nuclear submarine SSBN 620 – John Adams, a Lafayette Class Ballistic Missile Submarine. The Navy sent Mr. Field to the University of Kansas where he received a M.S., Petroleum Management. Mr. Field went on to serve as Commanding Officer of the Petroleum Supply Bases in Spain and finished his Navy career by establishing and managing the Navy Energy Office.
Mr. Field has a B.S., Naval Science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a M.S., Petroleum Management from the University of Kansas.
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L. Frank ‘Smokey’ Field Chairman and CEO - AOC, PNet
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Douglas C. Spitz President
Douglas Spitz serves as the President of PerformanceNet Management Group, LLC (PNet) as well as the VicePresident for AOC. Mr. Spitz has a history of building new regions for National Integrators such as Williams Communications, Nextira One and Shared Technologies. With a background in Investment Banking and Finance Mr. Spitz is able to connect technilogical tools with the functional economic impact they have on an organization. With the tenure that Mr. Spitz had in both the Finance and Communications industry, he brings insight into emerging technologies and not only the impact they will have on the efficiency of organizations but the impact on their bottom line.
Mr. Spitz brings an entrepreneurial spirit into PNet and the AOC family of companies. He brings a long successful track record and a sense of having fun while working hard for his customers. Mr. Spitz attended The Virginia Military Institute and received a B.A. in economics. Upon graduation Mr. Spitz accepted a commission in the US Army. -
Michelle V. Silvia Chief Financial Officer
Michelle Silvia serves as the Chief Financial Officer of PerformanceNet Management Group, LLC and the AOC Enterprise. Ms. Silvia holds primary management responsibility and operating controls for all finance and accounting activities for AOC’s operating subsidiaries to include: A/P, A/R, payroll, benefits, contracts management, cash flow, general ledger, monthly and year-end financial reporting, banking relations, and DCAA audits. In previous years as Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Silvia was accountable for the management oversight of American Operations Corporation and its subsidiaries to include: personnel management, contracts management, marketing systems, and management of office systems and procedures. In prior years,
Ms. Silvia served as Director of AOC’s International Operations, specializing in the identification of business development opportunities and providing a comprehensive strategic business and proposal development services. While with Price Waterhouse LLP, Ms. Silvia was responsible for managing the proposal process and the development staff for billion dollar business development projects. Prior to that, Ms. Silvia performed marketing activities for Fortune 500 companies at AOC in the sectors of environmental cleanup and restoration, facility management services, and construction management and development. Throughout her career, Mrs. Silvia has performed diverse management positions of operating authority including project coordinator for teams of 5-100 persons, to proposal manager for billion dollar enterprises, to Vice President of a $2 billion private foundation, to director of an international expansion project. -
Charles (Charlie) Ambuhl Vice President Consulting Services
As Vice President Mr. Ambuhl designs, develops, implements and manages performance management programs for Government and commercial clients. He has been instrumental in the advancement of the use of performance dashboards for use by public and private sector organizations in the pursuit of continuous improvement and mission success. Mr. Ambuhl has developed various tools, techniques and methodologies that drive improvement performance through the application and use of performance metrics. He analyzes COTS business analytics software solutions and provides recommendation based on the client requirements of: features, functionality, required scalability based on the expectations for system growth, ease of integration with existing technology, capability to extract data from existing and potentially new data sources, ease of use and ease of development, future development/enhancements, vendor support and vendor stability, vendor and product future direction and real-world experience in using the vendor’s systems. Software installation and dashboard development. Mr. Ambuhl also Interfaces business analytics systems to multiple data repositories, including Access, SQL Server and Excel spreadsheets. Mr. Ambuhl's past experience in data encryption and cyber security positions him to assist clients with the establishment of cyber security services.
Mr. Ambuhl is co-founder of the IT Performance Management Group and an active consultant within the IT performance management practice. He works with business and IT executives and their staffs on engagements focused on establishing current and targeted organization performance and the synergy/alignment between departmental strategies, goals and objectives and those of the enterprise. Employing tools, techniques, and methodologies he has developed specifically for these assessments, Mr. Ambuhl has been instrumental in the building of performance management programs at both commercial and government organizations.
Prior to co-founding ITPMG, Mr. Ambuhl was Vice President, EMEA Performance Measurement for META Group. At META Group he co-developed and managed the delivery of a set of cost and price measurement services, focusing on the use of KPIs to establish the efficiency, effectiveness and cost/price performance of IT services.
Previously, Mr. Ambuhl was vice president of Gartner Measurement’s client services for North America, where he managed service analysts and delivery of IT measurement services to Global 2000 accounts. Before that, he developed and managed Gartner’s delivery team for the IT Overview Analysis, the first measurement service directed at the CIO/CFO to provide understanding of IT performance with a business viewpoint. In addition, he spent 14 years at Real Decisions, which was acquired by Gartner, and was instrumental in launching several IT benchmarking services still in use today.
Mr. Ambuhl received a BA in business economics from The College of Wooster. -
Michael Bitterman Vice President, Consulting Services
As Vice President Mr. Bitterman works directly with clients to determine and specify systems and services that improve the efficiency, effectiveness and quality of contract fulfillment and mission success.. Within the IT environment Mr. Bitterman specifies those PNet systems that enhance IT operational performance using analytic platforms to identity and resolve infrastructure and applications issues before they impact the user or thee mission. He also designs, develops and implements performance management programs for public and private sector clients. Mr. Bitterman has worked with a number of prime contractors to DoD agencies in the development of programs that monitor, measure and report on contractor performance against Government standards and Award Fee requirements. Performance program development includes the establishment of goals, objectives, best in class standards and acceptable quality levels that meet or exceed government and private sector client requirements. Mr. Bitterman also develops performance dashboards that are used to integrate, monitor, measure and communicate performance measures and associated information to contractor and Government agency representatives. Dashboards are typically web based and therefore accessible to any authorized person regardless of location.
Mr. Bitterman is also a founder of the IT Performance Management Group and actively participates in many of their performance management and Business Intelligence engagements. . He works with senior business and IT executives in conducting engagements focused on establishing the current performance baseline, targeting future performance goals and implementing the means to achieve them. Mr. Bitterman has extensive experience in working with organizations to consolidate and integrate existing measurement programs in order to gain the greatest benefits from the measures already in place.
Prior to founding ITPMG Mr. Bitterman was a vice president at Gartner Group. He joined Gartner in 1994, and held a number of positions and established the Business Transformation and Performance Management practice. As vice president of Gartner Measurement, Mr. Bitterman was responsible for management of the senior analyst staff engaged in client delivery of Gartner’s benchmark and performance management services. He developed the techniques and methodologies used in the delivery of theses services and provided direction and support to analysts across all areas of IT, ensuring that a “business perspective” was a part of every performance analysis.
Mr. Bitterman gained his Bachelor’s degree at Doane College and his Master’s degree at the City College of New York.
Leadership
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MGen. Harry D. Gatanas (Ret.)
Harry D. Gatanas has more than 33 years of government experience as a leader in DOD acquisition and procurement. Over the past ten years his industry P&L experience spans all defense agencies as well as the intelligence community.
As Executive Vice President of Serco Incorporated’s Defense and Intelligence Group, Gatanas was responsible for the company’s business with the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. During his tenure Serco earned the prestigious Cogswell award. Prior to joining Serco, Gatanas served as the Executive Vice President, Strategic Programs, for SI International. Gatanas also served as President and CEO for MFN Global Services, L.L.C., a fiber-optic telecommunications provider for federal, state, local, and international clients specializing in global information grid solutions.
Gatanas’ government service included duties as the Senior Acquisition Executive for the National Security Agency (NSA). He was directly responsible for NSA’s acquisition mission, which exceeded several billion dollars a year for software, hardware and communication requirements, to include the management of all procurement activities. Gatanas also served in the U.S. Army and is a retired General Officer with over 28 years of leadership, contracting and acquisition experience. He served as the Army’s Director for Contracting, as well as the Assistant Deputy for Weapons Systems, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army. He also served as the Commanding General, of the Army’s White Sands Missile Range, where he managed a diverse technical workforce of scientists and engineers at a remote test site for rockets and missiles
Gatanas studied at Harvard’s Center for Management Research, the U.S. Army War College, and earned a Master of Arts in Teaching, Wayne State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in History, City College of New York.
Gatanas has numerous external affiliations, including recent service on the Board of Intelligence and National Security Alliance; Board of Advisors for the National Contract Management Association, the Procurement Round Table, and has been a presenter at AFCEA, AUSA, and various other conferences and symposia.
Harry has previously served on corporate boards to include Serco North America Inc. and ETI Engineering. He currently serves on several advisory boards to include Shipcom Wireless, Espy, Martek Global Services, Summit Technical Solutions, and PAE ISR.
Mr. Gatanas holds a current TS SCI Full Scope Polygraph clearance. -
Chuck Viator
Over 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications, information technology, and security technologies, working in operations, engineering, risk assessment, business intelligence, capture management, business development, continuous improvement and project management. Successful in driving new business and improving top and bottom lines. Consistently a high achiever and possesses a strong emotional IQ. Approach to life and work is best characterized as high energy and passionate. Successfully developed business relationships across the Federal Government – Civilian, DOD, and Intel Agencies. Academic studies focus on business management, engineering, and technology management. Data and experience based focus on the convergence of information technology and business processes to enhance mission performance.
Specialties: New Business Acquisition - Product and Service Development - Business Development - Project Management - Project Remediation - Business Performance Analysis - Business Intelligence - Technology Commercialization - Security- ITOA - Board Member.