The slow build - Express

PRESIDIO
7601 Ora Glen Dr., Suite 100
Greenbelt, Md. 20770
301-313-2000
Founded 2003
President: Rudy Casasola
Employees (local): 1,300 (300)
Presidio creates and manages computer
and telecommunications networks
for clients in the commercial
and government sectors. Through Presidio
Technology Capital, the firm also
provides leasing and financing options
for information-technology projects.
The year ended with a substantial
acquisition for Presidio, which picked
up INX, a publicly traded information-technology
firm, in November.
The deal is scheduled to close in early
2012.
RATNER
1577 Spring Hill Rd., Suite 500
Vienna, Va. 22182
(703) 269-5400
Founded: 1974
CEO: Dennis Ratner
Employees (local): 12,000 (2,800)
Ratner — which comprises the Hair
Cuttery, Bubbles Salons, Salon Cielo
and Spa, Salon Plaza and ColorWorks
Salon chains – is the country’s largest
family-owned-and-operated hair salon
company. It has nearly 1,000 salons
in 16 states. Ratner said it has opened 42
Hair Cuttery salons in Florida as part of
an expansion the company says it expects
to continue in 2012.
SRA INTERNATIONAL
4300 Fair Lakes Ct.
Fairfax, Va. 22033
703-803-1500
Founded: 1978
CEO: William “Bill” L. Ballhaus
Employees (local): 6,089 (4,087)
The government contractor, which
offers systems engineering, consulting
and technical services, had a year of
change. The company was taken private
under a $1.88 billion agreement with
Providence Equity Partners, and then
tapped William L. Ballhaus to take over
from Stanton D. Sloane, SRA’s chief
executive since 2007. Ballhaus, who led
DynCorp International for two years,
said going private means the company
can now focus on long-term opportunities
rather than short-term results.
TASC
4805 Stonecroft Blvd.
Chantilly, Va. 20151
703-633-8300
Founded: 1966
President and CEO: David Langstaff
Employees (local): 4,567 (3,186)
The company, spun off from
Northrop Grumman in 2009, provides
technical services such as systems engineering,
test and evaluation and cybersecurity
to the Defense Department,
the intelligence community and civilian
agencies. In 2011, Wood Parker stepped
down as president and chief executive,
and David Langstaff, former chief executive
of Veridian, took over. TASC also
bought Annapolis Junction-based TexelTek,
meant to provide additional
cloud computing and cybersecurity capabilities.
POST 200. CAPITAL BUSINESS . 12/19/11 36
Joel Richardson/The Washington Post
Beer at the Total Wine & More store
on Lee Jackson Highway in Chantilly.
THOMPSON HOSPITALITY
505 Huntmar Park Dr., Suite 350
Herndon, Va. 20170
703-964-5500
Founded: 1992
Chairman and president: Warren M. Thompson
Employees (local): 3,700 (550)
The nation’s largest minority-owned
food service company operates cafeteria,
catering, restaurant and retail
businesses, including Austin Grill, Marvelous
Market and American Tap Room.
It opened two American Tap Room locations
this year, one in Bethesda and
another in Clarendon. Thompson also
started a new concept in July called
Brb:be right burger, an all-natural burger
joint located in Reston Town Center.
In October, the company purchased a
41,358-square-foot office building in
Reston for $5.2 million.
TOTAL WINE & MORE
11325 Seven Locks Rd., Suite 214
Potomac, Md. 20854
301-795-1000
Founded: 1991
Co-owners: David and Robert Trone
Employees (local): 2,400 (277)
Total Wine & More is America’s
largest independent retailer of wine,
spirits and beer. It operates 78 wine
superstores in 11 states. Each store
carries 8,000 different wines, 2,500
beers and more than 3,000 spirits
(except in Virginia and North Carolina).
Brothers David and Robert Trone
started the chain with two stores in
Delaware and steadily added more,
including several Total Beverage stores
from the Dart Group in 1998.
VORNADO/CHARLES E. SMITH
2345 Crystal Dr., Suite 1000
Arlington, Va. 22202
703-769-8200
Founded: 1946
President: Mitchell N. Schear
Employees (local): 460 (460)
Vornado/Charles E. Smith is the
Washington division of Vornado Realty
Trust, a publicly traded New York real
estate firm. It is one of the largest owners
of office space in the Washington area.
The company continues to grow, even as
it seeks to fill vacancies left by the Defense
Base Closure and Realignment
Commission — particularly in Crystal
City. In November, it announced that it
would acquire 1399 New York Ave., an
11-story, 130,000-square foot office
building, for $104 million.
Astrid Riecken for The Washington Post
READY FOR IPO: David Rubenstein is one of the three founders of the Carlyle
Group. The District-based private equity firm is planning to go public early in
2012.
WILLS GROUP
P.O. Box 2810
La Plata, Md. 20646
301-932-3600
Founded: 1926
Chairman, president and CEO:
J. Blacklock Wills Jr.
Employees (local): 309 (224)
The family-owned company’s main
business is selling petroleum and related
products in Maryland, Virginia and
Delaware. It is the largest independent
marketer of Shell Oil in the country. It
operates four subsidiaries: a 35-store
convenience chain called Dash In Food
Stores; propane and heating oil distributors
Southern Maryland Oil and Delmarva
Oil; and SMO Motor Fuels,
which delivers gasoline. Through its
Potomac Energy Holdings venture,
Wills runs a network of gas stations.
XCELHR
700 King Farm Blvd., Suite 300
Rockville, Md. 20850
800-776.0076
Founded: 1990
President: Ted Winglass
Employees (local): 115 (65)
XcelHR provides back-office services
such as payroll, benefits administration,
risk management and human
resources to small and mid-size businesses.
The company, one of the largest
privately held HR outsourcing firms,
acquired Rockville-based Astra HR in
February and established its headquarters
there. Xcel also has sales and services
offices across the country, in
places such as Hudson, Mass.; Fort
Wayne, Ind.; Birmingham, Ala.; and
Buhl, Idaho.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
CARLYLE GROUP
1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 220
Washington, D.C. 20004
202-729-5626
Founded: 1987
Co-founders: William E. Conway Jr.,
Daniel A. D’Aniello and David M. Rubenstein
Employees (local): 1,100 (463)
After 25 years as a private company,
Carlyle Group is preparing to go public
in the the first half of 2012. Though it
cut its teeth in defense and aerospace
deals, Carlyle now boasts a diversified
portfolio, including real estate, companies,
and esoteric assets such as the
debt of foreign nations. One of its companies,
Dunkin’ Donuts went public in
2011. Co-founders William E. Conway
Jr., David M. Rubenstein and Daniel A.
D’Aniello are billionaires and beginning
to give away substantial sums.
NEW ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATES
5425 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 800
Chevy Chase, Md. 20815
301-272-2300
Founded: 1977
Managing general partner: Peter Barris
Employees (local): 102 (62)
The venture capital firm has been an
anchor for the region’s investment
community with a focus on early-stage
deals in the information-technology,
life sciences and medical sectors. The
firm’s Menlo Park, Calif., office lies in
start-up-rich Silicon Valley and its
international footprint includes China
and India. In July, the company announced
it would hang another shingle,
in New York City. A handful of
Washington firms have benefited from
its funds this year, including online
movie player SnagFilms and software
maker Cvent.