Young steps down from GTSI posts

Dendy Young announced that he will retire as chairman of the board of GTSI and as a company director following GTSI's next annual shareholder meeting, which should take within the next 30 days.

Young has been a GTSI director since December 1995. He was named chairman of the board in May 1998. Young served as chief executive officer of GTSI from December 1995 to February 2006, when he named Jim Leto president and CEO.

The change will "strengthen the operating and governance structure of our company," Young said at the time. GTSI went through two rounds of layoffs during Young's latter period as chairman and CEO. He called the layoffs an adjustment in size designed to better meet the company's market capacities.

Industry observers correctly predicted that Leto's experience with integrators and consulting firms would result in GTSI's transition from a reseller to the services and high-end solutions business.

Leto said GTSI would look for deals with a higher engineering service content, rather than commodity-oriented indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity buys. "GTSI will step up its small business partnership efforts as well," he said.

Analysts noted that GTSI had been losing ground as a reseller when Young handed over the reins to Leto. In the first six months of 2005, the company reported a net operating loss of $14 million compared to a net loss of only $3 million the same period the year before. And in the third quarter of 2005, ending Sept. 30, GTSI reported an operating profit of $4.7 million compared to a profit of more than $10 million the same quarter the previous year.

For the fourth quarter fiscal 2006, GTSI reported sales of $279.4 million, compared to $278.8 million in the same period the year before, and net income of $9.5 million.

"Dendy and I have been friends for many years," Leto said in a statement on Young's retirement. "He appointed me to the board in 1996 and I continue to appreciate his guidance. An industry 'icon,' Dendy has been a leader in the government contracting arena for nearly three decades. We are grateful for his many contributions and for his 12 years of service to GTSI."

Young said he was most proud of the company's work in solving government customers' technology problems.

GTSI of Chantilly, Va., has 730 employees and ranks No. 27 on Washington Technology's 2006 Top 100 list of the largest federal IT contractors.