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Heavy hitters indeed: Victor Hoskins, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA), is on Virginia Business magazine’s annual influential list of 50 state business leaders, “Heavy Hitters: the 2020 list of Virginia business leaders who get things done.” Joining Hoskins on this year’s diverse list is the leadership of 15 Fairfax County-headquartered businesses, including Teresa Carlson at Amazon Web Services, Warren Thompson at Thompson Hospitality, Richard Fairbank at Capital One and Kathy Warden at Northrop Grumman. Also on the list is Buddy Rizer, director of  Loudoun County Economic Development.

Growing up fast: Inc. magazine compiled its first-ever list of the “D.C. Metro’s fastest-growing private companies” based on two years of high growth, and we are delighted to reveal that Fairfax County-based companies comprise 19 of the top 100 and 69 of the 250 on the list. Here are the Fairfax County companies in the top 25 and their two-year growth percentages: Herndon-based B3 Group (no.5), 1,510 percent growth; Herndon-based SmartEdge IT (no.9), 766 percent; Tysons-based FreeAlliance.com (no.15), 571 percent; Tysons-based Ridgeline International (no.25), 352 percent. See the Inc. list.

Lending a hand: Fairfax-based ICF CEO John Wasson said during an earnings call that ICF’s work with the Centers for Disease Control on public health communications and messaging is likely to ramp up in the short term as global health organizations work to inform the public about coronavirus-prevention efforts. The Washington Business Journal spread this story for subscribers.

Marked on the map: The growing Israeli business presence in the Washington, D.C. area, particularly in Fairfax County, is profiled in an Israeli online newspaper, The Marker. The writeup is in Hebrew but you can use the Google Translate function in the Chrome browser to see it in English (or just about any other language). Loyal E-Bird readers know that the FCEDA has had an office in Tel Aviv since 2005 to work with Israeli companies interested in the U.S. market. More than 30 Israeli companies have a presence in Fairfax County.

Local control: Ground teams at Northrop Grumman‘s satellite control center in Dulles and at Intelsat’s operations center in Tysons orchestrated the Feb. 25 docking between a Northrop Grumman robotic servicing spacecraft and an Intelsat communications satellite more than 22,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean. This was the first link-up between two commercial satellites in space — an “historic moment for space commerce,” according to the companies. See the story and photos in Spaceflight Now.

Flying in formation: Tysons-based Aireon and Brussels headquartered EUROCONTROL signed a 10-year agreement for the provision of space-based surveillance-broadcast data. The deal will enhance aviation-flow management capabilities across EUROCONTROL’s 41 European member states and two comprehensive agreement states, according to a release picked up by citybizlist.

Defense deal: Reston-based Bechtel’s government contracting unit joined a Northrop Grumman team to prepare the delivery of a system of inter-continental ballistic missiles and launch infrastructure. Under the deal, Bechtel will provide launch system design, construction and integration during the upcoming engineering and manufacturing development phase. Potomac Tech Wire picked up the release.

Praising principles: Fairfax County-headquartered Booz Allen Hamilton, Hilton, Leidos, Noblis and Parsons were named among the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” in a 2020 list by Ethisphere of 132 companies spanning 21 countries and 51 industries.

Start-up a la Mode: Reston-based X-Mode Social evolved from a start-up company that developed Drunk Mode, an app for the inebriated, to a location-data collection company. Find out about how the company made the business transition in a feature article in Technical.ly DC.

Kiwi cover: Reston-based Science Applications International Corp. won a multimillion-dollar contract from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the Government of New Zealand. Under the deal, the company will provide systems engineering and integration services to construct a regional tsunami buoy network, according to ExecutiveGov.

Catch an eagle: Tysons-based Preferred Systems Solutions purchased Chantilly-based Eagle Ray, an information technology management consulting firm, for an undisclosed sum. Established in 2002, Eagle Ray provides technical and business capabilities across the intelligence community, homeland security, defense and financial regulatory agencies, reported GovConWire.

Retail roundup: Fair Oaks Mall has largely filled out the massive 234,000-square-foot space left empty by the exit of Sears, landing Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy to fill 106,000 square feet, to join Dave & Buster’s, which is already open, and Lazy Dog, a restaurant slated to open in April, the Washington Business Journal reported.

Art stop: Fairfax County Park Authority and the McLean Project for the Arts unveiled plans for an arts campus at Clemyjontri Park in McLean. Located at 613 Georgetown Pike, the campus will include galleries, studios, a creative outdoor space and turf parking, according to Tysons Reporter.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

Peraton won a $218.6 million contract covering satellite communications services to U.S. Africa Command and its mission partners. GovConWire

Carahsoft Technology scored a Department of Information Resources contract for data storage, data communications and networking equipment and related services on behalf of the State of Texas. citybizlist

Featured business events

March 4 — CSR Roundtable of Northern Virginia: The Corporate Role in the 2020 Census. Volunteer Fairfax presents a panel of experts on the corporate role to ensure a complete count and the consequences of an undercount on your business, employees, and the nonprofits your firm supports through its Corporate Social Responsibility. Click here.

March 11 — Succession Planning – How Small Business Owners Make Big Exits. The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce presents a  Business Education Series workshop on positioning for selling a small business featuring Randy Jones, a wealth management advisor at First Financial Group. Click here.

March 25 — Innovate 2020: Tech Talent Pipeline. The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce presents a conference on developing the workforce needed for Northern Virginia’s growing technology sectors. Click here.

March 25 — Impact AI: National Impact, Local Innovation. The Northern Virginia Technology Council presents a conference on developments in artificial intelligence and the strength of the regional AI ecosystem. Click here.

March 25-26 — Annual Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) Workshop. The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance presents a conference with targeted content, high caliber networking opportunities, live demo capabilities and quality research with the overall drive on reducing barriers to augmented reality (AR) adoption and experiences. Click here.

March 25 — How to Market that Makes Selling (Almost) Unnecessary. The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce presents a Business Education Series workshop on marketing for small or home-based businesses featuring James Lawson and Angela Inzerillo, co-founders of Impact Business Solutions. Click here.

April 7 — Entrepreneurship 101: Starting a Business in Fairfax County. The FCEDA presents monthly workshops with our partners: the Fairfax County Government, Fairfax County-based Community Business Partnership, the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Click here.