Scott Denniston - President and CEO
Scott Denniston is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Scott Group of Virginia, LLC. The Scott Group provides strategic business development services to small businesses in the Federal marketplace. Scott Group also facilitates partnerships and alliances between large and small businesses to compete on Federal contract opportunities as well as assist large businesses to establish world class subcontracting programs and identify potential small business subcontractors and partners.
Mr Denniston is also Executive Director of the National Veteran Small Business Coalition whose mission is to transition veterans into business owners and ensure the Federal acquisition field is fair for all veteran owned small businesses. Mr Denniston serves on the Humana Veterans Advisory Board which provides guidance to Human Healthcare Services Inc., on delivering innovative healthcare solutions to our Nation's veterans. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the American Freedom Foundation and the American Small Business Coalition.
Previously, Mr Denniston was the Director, Office of Small Business Programs and the Center for Veterans Enterprise at the Department of Veterans Affairs. During his tenure VA was a leader in awards to all categories of small businesses consistently spending over $3 billion with small business. During his tenure, VA was consistently graded "green" by the Small Business Administration and the US House of Representatives Small Business Committee. Scott began his government career with the Customs Service. He also held numerous management positions with the Small Business Administration. He is also active in the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA), and is past chair of the Small Business Committee of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA).
Mr Denniston is a nationally recognized advocate for veteran entrepreneurs. In 1998 he was appointed to the Congressional Commission on Service Members and Veterans Transition Assistance, where he developed recommendations for enhancing and expanding support for veteran business owners. Many of those recommendations were incorporated into Public Law 106-50, the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Act of 1999, and Public Law 108-183, the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003. He established the Center for Veterans Enterprise, a VA organization dedicated to providing support to veterans interested in entrepreneurship.
In March 2005, Mr Denniston received the prestigious "Federal 100 Award" from Federal Computer Week for developing the VETBIZ website and the Vendor Information Pages data base of veteran owned small businesses. In June 2008, he received the "Leadership Award" from the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM), for his work on the GSA "VETS GWAC". In October 2008, Scott received the "Leadership Award" from the Parren J. Mitchell Foundation for his years of support to the minority small business community. In October 2008, he also received the "Patriot Award" from the American Freedom Foundation for his efforts on behalf of veterans.
He was born in Somerville, New Jersey. He received a B.A. degree in Economics from Waynesburg College and a M.S. degree in Government from Southern Illinois University. He is also a veteran, having served in the US Army.