Executive Spotlight: Emile Trombetti, SVP at SkillStorm

Emile Trombetti, senior vice president and head of the government services business at SkillStorm, recently participated in an Executive Spotlight interview with the Potomac Officers Club in which he spoke about his experience in the government contracting sector, the pillars of his management style and the changes he believes the federal government needs to address in order to keep pace with the speed of innovation. Trombetti has been with SkillStorm for three months, and prior to his current position he served as chief growth officer for vTech Solution Inc.

What can you tell us about your background and how you’ve been able to adapt to the ever-changing challenges of the federal landscape over the course of your career?

I began my career on Wall Street working at financial institutions such as Prudential Securities and Citicorp. I eventually became head of IT Infrastructure at General Motors, and then I was recruited to join Booz Allen and assist an intelligence agency in outsourcing a large portion of their IT Infrastructure. I spent 19 years at Booz Allen and rose to senior partner before retiring in 2018. 

I ultimately joined SkillStorm because they are addressing the issues around technology skills gaps for both government agencies and contractors while helping both our veterans and others who want to accelerate their technology careers. Technology is evolving quickly, and both the government and its suppliers must address the technology skills gaps to take advantage of the benefits of such technologies while staying ahead of our adversaries.

If you were given free rein to enact changes in the federal landscape, what are the first three changes you would implement and why?

I would first address the significant issue that the federal government has in attracting and retaining qualified technical talent. Today, the federal government cannot compete with the private sector. The salary gaps between government and private sector jobs is too great to adequately allow the government to compete for skilled technical talent or even attract junior talent that want to have technology careers. Leveraging the benefits of technology requires skilled workers, and this gap presents a serious risk.  

Secondly, I would work with OPM to address the requirement for college degrees. I believe moving to a skills-based requirement for possible hires would help bridge the skills gap and open up a new population to government service. Young individuals today are tech savvy from a young age, and some positions may not require degrees if they have the technical competencies.

How would you describe your management style and core values towards building a winning culture?

My management style is one that is inclusive. Building a winning culture to me means building a team that feels that their contributions and opinions are valued. They must feel that they enjoy the people they work with and feel that there is an environment where they can continually learn and see future opportunities. My style also recognizes that talented individuals must be given opportunities to grow and take on new challenges, so there is an expectation that several highly talented individuals will move on to new opportunities and you must encourage that and continuously look for new talent to fill those gaps left by those that rise to new challenges.