During the past year, Leslie Tillman and her team’s biggest achievement was successfully rebranding the company to Empower AI from NCI Information Systems through collaboration across the organization. The new name better represents the company’s focus on technology and customer success.

From a pricing perspective, that transition included working very hard to find the right pricing models for AI products and services, not only to become even more competitive within the industry, but also to show Empower AI’s differentiated AI-as-a-service model is cost effective for new and existing customers.

It required a lot of effort, but Tillman is very proud of the company’s progress as it begins a new year full of new opportunities.“

While it may seem strange to some, I find the world of federal pricing to be exciting each day. It’s not just spreadsheets and numbers; far from it,” she said. “There’s always something new and different, and finding creative ways to be competitive in an industry that is very competitive is a challenge I enjoy.”

Additionally, from a business perspective, Tillman was very pleased the team achieved a 97% win rate on recompete contracts last year, which was no small task in a highly competitive environment.“

Leslie is one of the most pragmatic leaders I’ve had the privilege to work with, which is exactly what you want and need in the competitive world of federal pricing,” said Chuck Hicks, Empower AI chief operating officer and chief financial officer. “Her leadership, experience and wise counsel, as well as her ability to collaborate across the organization to get things done quickly and accurately, are impressive to everyone on our team. Leslie has created and developed the best pricing team I have worked with in the last 20 years.”

Why Watch

Tillman and her team are focused on a strong pipeline of new work and partnerships in 2023 as prime contractors and strategic partners. They are preparing for a competitive year and aligning pricing strategies to show the value of AI-enabled programs.

By highlighting and pricing the AI effectively within bids, the company can help customers use AI to remove the repetitive tasks machines can do for them, enabling them to focus on the tasks that require critical thinking.“

When that happens, agency leaders achieve more of their missions, and that’s what it’s all about for us. It’s very rewarding,” Tillman said.

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