#Innovidual Mark Fagin
We’re a company full of innovative individuals, or as we call them, #innoviduals. This recurring series highlights some of our best and brightest employees by sharing their unique wisdom and technical know-how.
Our latest #innovidual is Mark Fagin, Director of Business Development Ground Logistics and Mission Support in our Defense Group. Fagin enjoyed a 32-year military career before transitioning to his civilian role with Leidos. His last role in the armed forces was a five-year stint as the Senior Logistics Warrant Officer for the United States Special Operations Command or SOCOM.
In the video below, Fagin recounts his brief but vital role supporting a Special Forces mission in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. Years later, it was revealed that this small group of Special Forces soldiers helped begin the ground fight against the Taliban early on in the war in Afghanistan. Their story was told in the book Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan, which served as the basis for the 2018 film 12 Strong.
Tell us a little about your job and the responsibilities that come with it.
I’m accountable for the execution and growth of current strategic Department of Defense (DOD) logistics markets. Among other things, I work to identify new business opportunities that fit the Leidos strategy, develop and maintain prospective customer relationships, understand customer mission imperatives and budgets, issues and constraints, and develop winning innovative solutions to solve customer problem sets.
Why is innovation important in your role?
Many companies and organizations offer logistics as a core capability. Our customers hear time and time again the “same” solution to a problem set that they may have. Being able to look holistically at a problem, break it down into its sub-elements and ask, “How can Leidos do this differently? How can Leidos provide more value to our customer to achieve their goals within their allotted budgets?” is the way I approach my job.
As a result, our teams have proven through years of excellent program performance that we’re able to provide innovative solutions to our customers, truly differentiating our offerings from those of our competitors.
Are there any innovations or individuals that inspire you in your work? Who or what?
I’m constantly motivated to continue to innovate and think outside the box by the men and women in our Armed Forces. They have an immediate need and it’s our responsibility as a defense contractor to ideate with them to provide truly innovative solutions to the challenges they face.
