Allison Ritz is an experienced leader in the technology sector, with a strong background supporting some of the world’s largest government contracting organizations. A certified APMP member, Allison is a recognized thought leader and frequent speaker at GovCon events, sharing insights on the power of strategic connections. Her passions lie in driving success by helping organizations realize the value of meaningful relationships. With a firm belief in the importance of planning, process, and thoughtful execution, Allison excels at making SaaS solutions personal, fostering long-lasting, profitable client relationships.
Unlock Your Competitive Edge
VT Summit 2024 is your exclusive opportunity to accelerate your team’s success in a one-day, in-person free event. Gain firsthand insights from industry leaders, stories from VisibleThread customers, and practical peer discussions.
See VisibleThread’s product roadmap for 2025 and learn how 11 of the top 15 government contractors use our solutions to stay ahead in the industry.
Walk away with actionable strategies and practical takeaways to sharpen your competitive edge, drive efficiency, and unlock new opportunities in your industry.
Don’t miss out on this chance to connect, learn, and elevate your business
Date
Thursday, November 7, 2024 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Where
Convene – Arlington, VA
Feedback from VT Summit 2023
Benefits of Attending VT Summit
- Hear firsthand success stories from top customers and industry leaders.
- Engage in practical discussions with industry leaders and explore real-world challenges and solutions.
- Network with peers and experts, leaving with practical takeaways to sharpen your competitive edge and drive results.
- Gain exclusive insights into VisibleThread’s product roadmap and future innovations.
- Meet the VisibleThread team in person.
Register for Free
Meet our incredible speakers
Fergal McGovern
CEO and Founder
VisibleThread
Fergal McGovern
CEO and Founder
VisibleThread
Fergal is the founder and CEO of VisibleThread. Works closely with our strategic accounts including 11 of the top 15 US government contractors. Fergal’s vision is all about building trust, engagement, and understanding through AI-powered solutions that streamline operations and foster collaboration.
Allison Ritz
Director of Product Marketing
VisibleThread
Allison Ritz
Director of Product Marketing
VisibleThread
Corey Solivan
Founder
Trust Income Equity
Corey Solivan
Founder
Trust Income Equity
Mr. Corey Solivan is a growth strategist and executive with a dynamic career trajectory spanning federal civil service, government contracting, and his role as the founder of the AI startup, Data Room AI. His diverse background also includes startup tech advisory positions with OnFrontiers, Project 10K, and NextStage.AI, and board advisory roles for businesses across the federal sector. With +$5B in 2024 award value, Mr. Solivan’s expertise lies in driving exponential business growth. He has propelled large-scale businesses to $400M in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and successfully steered smaller businesses from inception toward $100M in revenue.
Derick Catman
Co-Founder
Trust Income Equity
Derick Catman
Co-Founder
Trust Income Equity
Derick brings over 30 years of expertise in Information Technology security, with a strong focus on network infrastructure development and deployment. In the last decade, Derick has expanded his expertise in project and program management, taking on key roles that have honed his ability to develop corporate strategies and guide business growth. As a GWAC and IDIQ Manager for multiple companies, he pioneered a data-driven approach to streamline go/no-go bid decisions. Derick’s commitment to enhancing tools and processes allows him to create innovative strategies for reducing time debt in opportunity capture workflows, consistently driving efficiency and success.
Kyle Peterson
Vice President of Account Strategy & Customer Success
VisibleThread
Kyle Peterson
Vice President of Account Strategy & Customer Success
VisibleThread
Kyle Peterson is a seasoned leader in Customer Success and Contracts Management. As Vice President of Account Strategy & Customer Success at VisibleThread, he drives initiatives to enhance RFP and contract clarity and compliance, ensuring maximum customer value. Previously, he managed $500M+ contracts at Sierra Nevada Corporation, ensuring FAR/DFARS compliance and leading key negotiations. With a strong background in operations and contracts analysis, Kyle excels at optimizing processes and delivering exceptional customer outcomes.
Anatalia Macik
Director of Proposal Operations
Excella
Anatalia Macik
Director of Proposal Operations
Excella
Anatalia is the Director of Proposals Operations at Excella. She is an award-winning Certified Practitioner, with a 20-year successful career in writing/editing, fortified by 14 years in business development and a decade in management. Anatalia was honored as a member of APMP’s ’40 Under 40’ Class of 2020 and recognized as a ‘Technology Rising Star’ by STEM Women of Color in 2022, reflecting on her exceptional skills in process development, interdepartmental coordination, and communication.
Steve Skeldon
Capture and Proposal Industry Leader | APMP International Board Director
Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc.
Steve Skeldon
Capture and Proposal Industry Leader | APMP International Board Director
Chickasaw Nation Industries, Inc.
Emily Mahon
Customer Success Manager
VisibleThread
Emily Mahon
Customer Success Manager
VisibleThread
Emily Mahon has been part of our Customer Success Team for over 2 years. Emily’s main responsibility as a Customer Success Manager is to partner with customers and make sure they are receiving as much value as possible from VisibleThread. Her daily role focuses on building strong relationships with her customers, listening to their needs and acting as a trusted advisor. She also acts as a customer advocate internally and collaborates closely with teams like Engineering, Sales, and Marketing.
Chloe Norwood
Field Marketing Specialist
VisibleThread
Chloe Norwood
Field Marketing Specialist
VisibleThread
As a dedicated and results-oriented Field Marketing Specialist with a passion for orchestrating impactful events, Chloe has skillfully managed a diverse range of events. Her approach involves meticulous planning, precise coordination of logistics, and a keen eye for creating an immersive event atmosphere for attendees. Chloe’s commitment to end-to-end management ensures that every detail, from collaborating with industry professionals to on-site operations ensures a seamless experience.
Agenda
8:15 AM
Networking & Breakfast
We’ll kick off a day packed with opportunities for networking. Our opening breakfast sets the stage for a networking building experience.
8:45 AM
Opening Remarks & Welcome
| Join us as Fergal McGovern kicks off the day with an overview of what to expect, setting the stage for an exciting and insightful event. We are open to questions throughout the day, and we want the event to be as impactful as possible. There will also be plenty of time for networking. |
Fergal McGovern
VisibleThread
9:00 AM
Customer Case Study - L3Harris
Discover how L3Harris, a leader in innovation and digital transformation, successfully tackled business challenges using VisibleThread’s solutions. This session focuses on their onboarding journey and how they’ve pushed adoption, with Emily Nack and Tom Triebwasser leading the charge as true innovators of technology and digital transformation. This customer case study offers valuable insights into effective strategies, shared firsthand by industry leaders.
Emily Nack
L3Harris
Tom Triebwasser
L3Harris
9:45 AM
Networking & Coffee Break
Take a break, grab some refreshments, and make valuable connections with fellow professionals. This is the perfect time to exchange ideas and build relationships.
10:00 AM
Product Vision & Technology Landscape in GovCon
Get a glimpse of the future of VisibleThread as we focus on using the right technology for the right task. Fergal McGovern will outline the product vision, discuss the evolving technology landscape in the GovCon space, and provide insights into how our tools are designed to meet emerging needs. This session will also offer a look ahead at upcoming advancements, helping you understand how VisibleThread is positioned to drive efficiencies, deliver value, and stay ahead of industry trends.
Fergal McGovern
VisibleThread
10:45 AM
Customer Panel: Bid & Proposal Trends, Best Practices, and Automation
Join our panel of experts as they explore the latest trends in bids and proposals, particularly focusing on the impact of continuing resolutions on RFP issuance cadence. This session will address how these changes are affecting bid and proposal resourcing and budgeting, and how BD/Capture teams can support their proposal colleagues in managing tighter timelines and higher stakes. We’ll also discuss the feast/famine cadence and its impact on proposal teams, including internal pressures to cut resources during down times. Additionally, we’ll hear insights from customer evaluation teams on compliance misses, teaming arrangements, and contract type updates.
Steve Skeldon
Chickasaw Nation Industries
Kyle Peterson
VisibleThread
Anatalia Macik
Excella
11:30 AM
Leveraging Data for Contract Vehicle Analysis
This session will demonstrate how Discovery can be leveraged for deeper analysis of solicitations and positioning in the pre-RFP phase. We’ll begin with an overview of the MAPS opportunity, including what we know about the scope and where we are in the pre-RFP stage. The session will also cover ITES-3S and RS3, followed by an introduction to Discovery and how it can be used in a BD/competitive analysis capacity. We’ll deconstruct prior solicitations, identify customer win themes and differentiators, and analyze awarded work to show correlations. Attendees will learn how to prepare and identify likely key requirements and differentiators in upcoming RFPs, along with gap analysis to align core competencies.
Kyle Peterson
VisibleThread
Allison Ritz
VisibleThread
12:00 PM
Complimentary Lunch
Enjoy lunch while networking with peers. This is a fantastic opportunity to exchange insights from the morning sessions, connect with industry professionals, meet your Customer Success Manager if you’re already a customer, or speak with our knowledgeable team to learn more about how we can support your goals.
12:45 PM
Customer Case Study: Trust Income Equity
Following the previous session on Discovery, hear Corey Solivan share a real-world example of Trust Income Equity’s experience, highlighting how they leveraged data combined with visualization tools to create actionable insights, along with the challenges, solutions, and the value gained from VisibleThread’s products.
Corey Solivan
Trust Income Equity
Derick Catman
Trust Income Equity
1:15 PM
Generative AI Prompting for GovCon Success
Dive into the latest advancements in VT Writer and explore real use cases on how generative AI prompting can enhance proposal creation and other GovCon processes. We’ll showcase practical examples of leveraging VT Writer’s capabilities, including hands-on demonstrations of effective prompting techniques. This interactive workshop will provide attendees with actionable insights and strategies to apply the latest AI tools in their proposal workflows.
Kyle Peterson
VisibleThread
1:45 PM
Closing Remarks
Wrap up the day’s sessions with closing thoughts from Fergal McGovern, summarizing key takeaways and looking ahead to future opportunities.
Fergal McGovern
VisibleThread
What to Expect at VT Summit?
Our full agenda will be announced soon but here's a sneak preview:
GovCon Industry Experts Panel
- A diverse group of VisibleThread customers sharing their insights.
- Discussion on best practices learned in 2024.
- The impact of AI and technology on their processes.
- 2025 predictions and trends
Leveraging Discovery for Pre-RFP Analysis
- Overview of using discovery for deeper analysis of solicitations and positioning in the pre-RFP phase.
- Insight into MAPS opportunities with ITES-3S and RS3.
- Demonstration of how to use discovery in a business development and competitive analysis capability.
- Analysis of prior solicitations, win themes, differentiators, and awarded work.
- How to leverage insights for upcoming RFP preparation.
Customer Real-Life Example Analysis
- Looking at bid/no-bid processes and postmortem analysis to optimize your win rate.
- Using data to create visuals that empower teams and enable better decision-making.
Enterprise Keynote
- How to drive adoption and successful digital transformation programs.
- Ensuring your investment in technology is empowering your teams effectively.
- A deep dive into enterprise-level strategies and approaches for success in GovCon.
All Things Prompting and AI for GovCon
- Real examples from VisibleThread users who have developed prompts supporting their organization’s quality in RFP processes.
- Discussion on how AI can streamline proposal responses and enhance quality.
- VT Writer Prompt Libraries & Generative AI: Demonstrating how these features make content creation easier and faster for proposal responses.
VisibleThread, What's Next?
- Key Features in VT Docs 6.0: Highlighting customer benefits and how these advancements simplify RFP processes.
- 2025 Release Plans: An insight into future updates for VT Docs and VT Writer, focusing on enhancing ease of use, performance, and compliance.
- Introduction to Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG): How RAG simplifies creating tailored RFP responses using your organization’s knowledge base.
- Q&A Session with Fergal McGovern: A chance to discuss how these technologies improve ease of use, performance, and compliance in RFP software.
“All the presenters were excellent and the topics covered were pertinent and informative. I appreciated the format.”
“I’ve been to Coachella, and I’ve been to the Visible Thread Summit. I can confirm… the hype is real. The Coachella of bid and proposal conferences!”
“The VT summit has been very eye opening and enlightening. It’s been great to hear how other visible thread users are using the technology. I definitely see value in attending.”
