MetTel names new leader for federal business

MetTel, one of the ten vendors on the General Services Administration’s $50 billion next generation Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) telecommunications contract, named a former AT&T executive to head its federal business operations.

Robert Dapkiewicz has taken over as general manager and senior vice president of MetTel’s federal program.

Dapkiewicz held numerous senior executive positions in both the commercial and government sectors at AT&T, said MetTel in a Sept. 10 statement. A company spokesman said those positions included, most recently, vice president - local government and education - AT&T Government Solutions. Before that he was vice president - federal civilian - AT&T Government Solutions, the spokesman said.

Dapkiewicz steps into a significant role at MetTel. He replaces Diana Gowen, a long-time leader in the government telecommunications market, who died last spring after a battle with cancer.

Gowen led the chase and capture of some of the biggest telecom contracts in the government market -- FTS 2001, Networx, and the Defense Research and Engineering Network and more recently, the EIS contract.

“I have big shoes to fill,” Dapkiewicz said in a Sept. 9 interview. Gowen, he said, built a solid foundation for MetTel to grow on and to get it onto the EIS roster of vendors. 

“She gave the federal practice a great head start,” Dapkiewicz said of Gowen. “It was a tenacious, well-run competitor anyway. Now it’s a formidable competitor” among the other larger EIS vendors including AT&T, he said.

A faster and more efficient response to agency needs is critical during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

MetTel can use its light-footed response capabilities to outperform slower EIS telecommunications giants such as AT&T. “Having lived at AT&T for years, I saw that complex business details can sometimes get lost,” Dapkiewicz said.

MetTel’s less burdensome processes, he said, appeal to agencies looking for quick responses.