Mike Barthlow, president and CEO of BT Federal, was featured recently in an exclusive Executive Spotlight interview with the Potomac Officers Club, in which he discussed his public and private sector career milestones, the tenets that guide his leadership methods and what he hopes to accomplish across the government contracting landscape in the future.
Barthlow assumed his current post at BT Federal in January 2021. Previously, he served as senior vice president and general manager of the mission communications and computing business at Cubic Corporation.
In this excerpt from the interview, Barthlow speaks on how a national tragedy strengthened his commitment and reinvigorated his mission focus on delivering support to critical government systems:
“I began my journey in the federal landscape as a Marine Corps communications and information systems officer. I had the opportunity to serve in an artillery battalion with the 11th Marines as an S-6 (staff communication officer) as my first assignment, and it truly challenged my skills and leadership having to bring together data and voice communications in a very fluid operational environment. I left active duty after my assignment at 11th Marines and went onto AT&T’s signature client group to help turn around the service delivery performance of the Sun Microsystem Lifecycle Management team.
After having some great success in the assignment for almost 18 months, the attack on September 11th happened. As a result, I was gladly mobilized to serve in the global War on Terror at U.S. Central Command. Fortunately, I was deployed into a role as the chief of joint theater data networks, utilizing some of my recent experience in the commercial world to help build the largest warfighting network in modern history. That experience truly shaped my career, and I feel like I have been on a mission ever since to improve, modernize and deliver the most secure, capable enterprise communications and information systems possible to my federal customers.”
Click here to read the full Executive Spotlight interview with BT Federal’s Mike Barthlow.
Are you a GovCon executive who’s interested in being featured in an Executive Spotlight? Visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to learn more about the platform’s membership options and benefits.