AT&T's Kapoor wins Mendenhall award

AT&T Government Solutions President Kay Kapoor is the 2014 winner of the Janice K. Mendenhall Spirit of Leadership Award -- ACT-IAC's highest honor for contributions to the federal IT community.

Robert Suda, who presented the award Oct. 27 at ACT-IAC's Executive Leadership Conference in Williamsburg, Va., noted that Mendenhall "was the epitome of the public servant," and praised Kapoor for her similar commitment to "helping government agencies and private sector companies to use technology creatively and efficiently."

"At the heart of her operational style are two key principles," Suda said: "Exceptional customer service, and taking care of her team."

Kapoor called the award "very, very humbling," and said that her commitment to the government technology space was tied in part to her own life experience. "Many of you who know me know that I came to this country as an immigrant," she said. "This may sound a little corny, but it's a little tiny way of giving back to the country that's given so much to me."

The Janice K. Mendenhall Spirit of Leadership Award, established in 2001, commemorates the life of long-time civil servant Janice Mendenhall, and her history of mentoring others and encouraging government-industry collaboration. Other recent Mendenhall winners include former Office of E-Government and IT Administrator Mark Forman (2013) and former Agriculture Department CIO Anne Reed (2012).