DiPentima steps down from SRA helm

Renato A. DiPentima, SRA International Inc. president and CEO, will retire effective April 1 after a 12-year career with the company.Stanton Sloane has been selected as DiPentima successor. Sloane comes to SRA from Lockheed Martin Corp., where he has been executive vice president for Integrated Systems and Solutions since 2004.The move started a year ago when DiPentima told SRA's board that he would like to retire sometime in 2007. An executive search began in the fall, said SRA Chairman Ernst Volgenau.SRA looked at both internal and external candidates, but Sloane's experience running a $4 billion business unit at Lockheed Martin was an important factor in the decision, Volgenau said."We want to be a multibillion [dollar]company," Volgenau said several times during an analyst call this afternoon. "We need that kind of expertise to get us to the next level."SRA is expecting between $1.26 billion and $1.29 billion in revenue for its fiscal 2007, which will end June 30. The Fairfax, Va.-based company is ranked No. 19 on Washington Technology's Top 100 list of the largest federal IT contractors.DiPentima will remain a part-time employee and board member, and will work closely with Sloane to facilitate the transition.Volgenau said he and Sloane have talked extensively about SRA's culture and organization. Major changes are not expected."He's not the type of person who will come in with a big sword," Volgenau said. However, Sloane will have the freedom to make changes, he added.One change could be the hiring of a chief operating officer, a position SRA currently lacks. "He's interested in that, but he could decide he doesn't need one right now," Volgenau said. "We need to get him settled in and then decide what needs to get done."Volgenau would not comment on internal candidates that were considered, but he did express the hope that no one feels compelled to leave the company. "I think our executives are all on board," he said.Sloane began his career with General Electric Aerospace in 1984 and progressed through engineering, program management and business development assignments in a variety of GE Aerospace and subsequently Lockheed Martin businesses. He also served as an officer in the Navy.A native of Miami, Sloane holds a bachelor of science degree in professional studies (aeronautics) from Barry University, a master's degree in human resources management from Pepperdine University and a doctorate of management from the Weatherhead Business School at Case Western Reserve University.The decision to step down was a hard one for DiPentima, "but after 44 years [of working], I'd like to take sometime and relax," he said.DiPentima said he only took two weeks off between retiring from the Social Security Administration and starting work at SRA in 1995.