Kathy Barlow
Senior Vice President, Contracts and Pricing
Kathy Barlow is Senior Vice President, Contracts and Pricing for Intelligent Waves. Barlow is a GovCon industry expert and brings her 25 years of proven executive-level experience in managing strategic areas such as Contract Risk Mitigation, Compliance, Pricing, Contract Management, and Contract performance.
Before joining Intelligent Waves, Kathy served as the Senior Director of Contracts for IntelliDyne, LLC, a local government contractor. During her tenure with this firm, Kathy was responsible for all contract and subcontract activities, price proposals, and negotiations for Federal, State, and Local Government clients. Throughout Kathy’s career, she has worked as a contracts manager for multiple IDIQs, including TRICARE T/AARMS, DOJ ITSS, GSA Schedules, DHS EAGLE, Seaport-e, DOJ ITSS-3/4, and CIO-SP3.
Kathy received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business/Finance from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA., and went on to earn an MBA from Marymount University in Arlington, VA. Kathy holds a Secret, Active security clearance and is a member of the National Contracts Management Association.
Leadership Philosophy
It is my belief that leadership is based on open and honest communication, leading to trust and respect for each other. Our values are our road map. Our actions with those values in mind will be our success.
My job as a leader is to influence my team by providing purpose, direction, and motivation. We will approach our successes and frustrations as a team, learn from them, and continuously strive for improvement for the betterment of ourselves, our customers, and our company.
My goal is to challenge, empower, and encourage my team and those I encounter to be the best they can be…to be confident, accountable, successful…and proud of their personal achievements as well as of our team’s achievements.
My personal philosophies include:
Attitude…our attitudes influence everything around us. We can’t change many things – our past, what others think or how they act – but we can influence our own attitude and outcomes around us by our reactions.
“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” – Charles Swindoll
I am committed to honest, useful, communication. I will answer any questions you have to the best of my ability, understanding there may be some things I am not able to answer at certain times, but I will be as open as possible at all times.
I will be honest with you, please be honest with me. Dishonesty is a deal breaker.
Hold me accountable! I will do what I say I will do. If I don’t, call me out. Likewise, hold yourself accountable. I will make mistakes. I will own them. Mistakes happen, and decisions are made that turn out to be bad. It’s only when we own them and learn from them that we do better the next time. Repeating a mistake is not acceptable.
I am a planner! I will do my best to be prepared, for meetings, responses, unknowns, etc. I do not like wasting time…it’s too precious. If you require my time, I’m available…but be prepared with an agenda and specific outcomes.
“Even the best team without a plan, can’t score.” – Woody Hayes
“Preparedness is the ultimate confidence builder.” – Vince Lombardi
Not knowing is ok…not asking or finding the answer is not ok. We can learn every day – we learn from each other.
I will do my best to be positive and keep a sense of humor even in the difficult times. You should too – we’re in this together. I strive every day to enjoy my work, and the individual(s) I work with. Enjoy your work – make it what you want and what the organization needs.
Deadlines matter. I will make every effort to meet the deadlines I have agreed to. Meet your agreed to deadlines, or don’t agree to them and communicate what deadlines are achievable or find alternatives to achieving the deadline. If you cannot meet an agreed-upon deadline identify it early and communicate with those affected to resolve the best path forward.
Hot buttons:
Do the right thing – conduct all of your work ethically and above board. If you are questioning a situation or action, seek guidance.
I will trust you until you give me reason not to. Trust, but question.
I will not micromanage, but I expect you to know your job, your responsibilities and deadlines and to execute in a professional and timely manner.
Your opinion matters and is welcome. Please express it. However, when a decision is reached, everyone should communicate it regardless of personal opinions.
Saying “It’s not my job” is not your job – we work as a team, pull up our sleeves and succeed or fail as a team.
Be respectful – to your teammates, our customers and our partners. We work hard, we work long hours, we get stressed – respecting each other’s time and commitments will allow us all to balance our lives with work, family and friends – keeping us healthy and happy.