Industry Interview: Mission Essential Personnel, LLC
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Scott Humphreys
Executive Vice President
Mission Essential Personnel, LLC
Scott Humphrys is the executive vice president of Mission Essential Personnel, LLC. A lieutenant colonel in the Ohio Army National Guard, serving in the J-1, Scott served 15 years on active duty; first as an enlisted soldier, and later as an officer and Apache pilot. A graduate of the Army Command & General Staff College, Scott also holds a bachelors degree in environmental science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Q: Tell me a little bit about Mission Essential Personnel.
A: Mission Essential Personnel, LLC, formed in 2003, is a professional services firm that has become the preeminent provider of personnel and program management services in response U.S. government requirements. Whether it is language and translation services, global training programs, theater replication, culturally-correct role-player scenarios, intelligence operations support, or unique staffing challenges, Mission EP has grown to be recognized as a leader in government services. In fact, we were selected as the fastest-growing business in Ohio for 2007, and won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs Award in 2006. We have over 3,000 employees and numerous offices around the world supporting our operations.
Q: Explain some of what you do?
A: Language services—translators and interpreters, pre-deployment training services such as culturally correct role players, language role players—LRPSs, scenario development and situational training exercises CONUS and OCONUS.
Q: How do you explain your success in this competitive arena?
A: Recruiting, vetting, deploying and managing qualified professionals anywhere in the world to enhance U.S. operations is what stands apart Mission EP from other service providers. Our ability to employ the best professionals available for our clients’ specific needs in a timely fashion has really built our reputation. We are proud of our employees who spend long hours ensuring we find the right people for our services. Additionally, because we have offices in 11 foreign countries, our ability to provide reach-back support to any client mission is enhanced.
Q: What is your position in the market sector?
A: Mission Essential Personnel works to help prepare our armed forces and other agencies for what they will encounter before they encounter it. With specialized programs that fit perfectly into pre and post-deployment task lists, our support lets units train to those standard tasks and ensures that leaders can participate in the training, not just manage it. Mission EP continues to increase its leadership in language and translation services. With over 2,000 linguists in multiple theaters of operation, we are supporting the large-scale needs of the DoD and other agencies. As our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Guardsmen prepare for or return from deployment, we take the latest lessons learned and incorporate them to our innovative scenarios so our armed forces can fully benefit from their experiences.
Q: You said you were formed back in 2003.
A: Yes, we formed in 2003 but our growth makes it sometimes seem like we’ve been around for 50 years! But really, being established in this industry is not only about how many years you’ve been around, but it really centers on the quality of the services you provide that meet your contractual obligations, are the right solution, and are on time and under budget. We’ve done really, really well for our customers in that respect.
Q: How have you been measuring success?
A: Our greatest indicator of success is the amount of repeat business we get. We continue to meet and exceed all of our clients’ expectations and our own as well. Our goals for this year are to continue to service the customers we have now but also to branch into other opportunities in the humanitarian space, and the international market. We think there is a lot we can do to help partner nations develop the capacity they need to keep their citizens safe but also to enhance their abilities to participate and have an impact in international operations. And of course, we will focus on our internal health to ensure that we can continue to meet the growing demand and be the best vendor we can be to the U.S. government and other clients.
Q: How are you positioned for the future?
A: With our focus on support operations for deploying units, Mission EP sees steady growth in the future. As we expand our portfolio of support services we will continue to innovate on behalf of the warfighter and ensure he is prepared as he can be before ever stepping foot in the battlespace. Just by the nature of the conflict, we think we will be able to continue to contribute to U.S. foreign policy and national security strategies but also to lots of U.S. regional engagement strategies as well. We want to be responsive and prepared to be a great partner to our customers. ♦