Hardesty leaving Education for industry

Candace Hardesty has left her position in the Education Department and will join Guerra, Kiviat, Flyzik & Associates starting June 1.

Hardesty, who was director of acquisition and contract performance in the Office of Student Financial Assistance Programs at Education, will be running the training and events arm of the firm as it aims to teach vendors the ins and outs of performance-based management, Robert Guerra said.

"In our business, you've got to stay ahead of market trends," he said. "It's performance and outcomes that matter more than the technology these days. If you're going to be successful in sales and marketing to feds, you better understand enterprise architecture, an agency's mission and how it maps to the President's Management Agenda."

In coordination with training, the company will also offer executive development to help companies structure themselves properly to handle performance-based management. "That's what our core competency is — helping them think through this," Guerra said.