Flyzik forming consulting firm

Jim Flyzik, a mainstay of the federal information technology community, announced today he will join two leading IT consultants to start a firm that will advise companies on how to do business with government.

When he retires from government Dec. 17, Flyzik immediately will begin to work with Robert Guerra and Phil Kiviat to form Guerra, Kiviat & Flyzik. Guerra has run Robert J. Guerra & Associates for eight years, and Kiviat has run the consulting firm the Kiviat Group for three years.

Flyzik, most recently the lead IT adviser in the Office of Homeland Security, has been the target of many companies looking to tap his valuable contacts in the Homeland Security Office and the CIO Council. Flyzik helped to found the council when he was chief information officer for the Department of Treasury.

Flyzik said he chose to join Guerra and Kiviat because of their combination of industry knowledge and contacts.

"With homeland security running so quickly, I needed to hit the ground running," Flyzik said today at an Industry Advisory Council luncheon held in his honor in Washington, D.C. He said that Guerra and Kiviat, "because of their established contacts, allow me to hit the ground running."

Guerra said Flyzik agreed to join the firm because their philosophies match. "The three of us want to make a difference," he said. "We want to make sure the vendor community understands and can solve the government's problems."

Too often, said Kivait, companies try to sell their products without that context. The firm will help them identify their customers' problems and find partners so they can develop solutions.

"We are very much like a marriage-broker," Kiviat said. "We share our understanding of agencies and what they want to do and how they like to work with companies so they can put together solutions to work with [agencies]."

Flyzik said they would likely focus on three areas: homeland security, e-government and cybersecurity.