Employee Profiles

Allan Walters, Senior Consultant

What is it like to work at AE Strategies?
It’s exciting to be part of a small company as it is growing. I like the autonomy I have on my project because each of us has direct responsibility to our client and our project. Our collective ultimate goal is to help our clients save money, work more efficiently, and manage their people and projects better.

What makes the culture of AE Strategies different and/or special?
There is an intrinsic honesty about how the company deals with employees. It’s very straightforward and uncomplicated. I have direct access to the President whenever I need it. We all clearly understand the mission – to help government work more efficiently – and we share the responsibility to succeed.

There is also a willingness to help each other out if a project would benefit from someone’s particular expertise or experience. That sharing makes us stronger and better able to support our clients.

Why did you decide to join AE Strategies and what keeps you here?
When I was in the Army I developed strong leadership and project management experience. After that, I worked as a project manager for a software development company and then for a large national firm as a contract manager handling logistics.

Since I joined AE Strategies, I’ve had a number of projects with the Department of Defense (DoD). For the last five years, I’ve been working with the Marine Corps (USMC) at Quantico. We supported the client in the development of a strategic workforce program office and we’re continuing on with them to establish the office and make it operational. The ultimate result should be a more prepared workforce ready to meet the challenges of the future. Advantages will include improved efficiency, better recruiting, better career management and cost savings.

I want to work where the people – both my employer and my client – value what I do and recognize what I bring to the project. Working with federal agencies for AE Strategies allows me to do that. I get to see both short and long term progress. Also, to grow personally, I need to continually grow my skills, learn new things and have interesting experiences. I get that from my consulting work.

What is your relationship with your client?  What projects have you/are you working on?
My relationship with the client at USMC has been very collaborative, and I’ve been asked to continue working with them as new projects have been identified. I think my experience in the Army gave me a better understanding of the DoD structure. This helps me work as part of the client’s team so we share ideas, develop the best solutions, and meet our goals. I have some control over my work schedule. Some days I work on site and others from home. That flexibility was negotiated with the client to balance their needs with mine and it is highly satisfying and empowering.

What would you tell a prospective employee about AE Strategies?
As a company, we are flexible and adaptive and we deliver high value, mid-cost solutions. Each solution we develop is targeted to the exact issue – we have no cookie-cutter, out of the box options. That is very rewarding because we each have sufficient control over our project and can influence results so they work well for the client.

Personally, I like that there is little to no bureaucracy at AE Strategies. There is no middle management to get in the way of your success, but you need to have the entrepreneurial attitude because you truly managing your project. The President is available to help provide resources when you need them; he listens to your ideas; and he’s very receptive to implementing them.