From the file  Company: Avineon Inc. Position: President and chief executive officer Education: Bachelor's degree and master's degree in engineering from the University of Michigan; bachelor's degree in marine engineering from Marine Engineering College in India. Age: 58

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Karlu Rambhala has been successful for quite a long time with his Avineon Inc., a provider of IT, engineering, geospatial and program management services that he founded in 1992. But in the last several years, Rambhala has really pushed its international growth and, in doing so, taken the company to a whole other level.

Rambhala, Avineon's president and chief executive officer, acknowledges that he was satisfied with a company that had 300 employees and more than $20 million in annual revenue as 2006 kicked off. However, he had no intention of resting on his laurels. "Where is the fun in just saying, 'I am here and successful?' Why not be somewhere else? Why not be a multinational corporation?" the 58-year-old Rambhala said.

Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., Avineon also has U.S. offices in Clearwater, Fla., and Huntsville, Ala. Six years ago the company opened in London; two years ago it opened in France; this year it opened in Canada. Belgium has also been added to its list of locations and Germany is on tap for the near future, as is the Persian Gulf and the Far East. Avineon has long had a strong presence in India.

Today, the company has close to 1,400 employees, with approximately 1,200 of those in India. Revenues have shot up keeping pace with the increased size of the company.

A private company, Rambhala said that all growth has been funded from within and that it has no debt.

Avineon is a very active company and the news is always bursting with new contract after new contract. The company has scored big with services federal, state and local government agencies, as well as commercial clients in the utilities, process and power industries.

In August, for example, the company inked a five-year contract worth an estimated $29 million with the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command Office of the Command Information Officer. Avineon's initial tasks under the IT services contract include project management, service desk, development services, information assurance and data center management.

The company is also in the middle of a new three-year deal with the Internal Revenue Service to provide comprehensive systems engineering and technical support services for approximately $7.8 million. This new deal is only part of the company's total information processing support services contract with the IRS. Avineon has worked with the IRS for a decade.

Other notable government clients include: Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Department of Treasury, Department of Veteran Affairs, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Library of Congress, Patent and Trademark Office, Small Business Administration, Social Security Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and U.S. Postal Service.

On the state and local level, clients include government entities in 11 states. Avineon has customers around the globe in the electric, gas, water and power industries, as well as deals with telecom giants such as AT& T, British Telecommunications and Sprint.

As an example of some of the more unique work Avineon does the company is also part of a project with the South Florida Water Management District to perform vegetation-mapping work to help document the location and type of vegetation habitats within Florida's Everglades. Company employees are using fieldwork, global positioning systems, photo interpretation, photogrammetry and geographic information systems to create maps utilizing aerial imagery. The work is being used to assess the progress of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan program, which is a scheduled 30-year project costing an estimated $8 billion.

As a leader, Rambhala certainly recognizes the different challenges of running a company with over 1,000 employees, compared to several hundred. But for him, it is all about his leadership team and managers.

He firmly believes if you put the right people in the right places they will run your company successfully for you. Tenure also is a desirable trait for Rambhala. "The senior managers I have are really unbelievable and they have been with me for a long time," he said. "They like working for our company and they take pride in working for Avineon."

According to him, many of his senior managers have been with the company for over 10 years — and they haven't just been satisfied with their positions, but many have returned to school to study management more and receive master's degrees in business administration. "We encourage people to go and further their education and we provide a lot of incentive as well," Rambhala said.

One of the things he feels his managers respond to is his emphasis on not micromanaging them and letting them handle their different reigns at the company. "I don't work in an autocratic manner. They run things the way they like to," he said. "We work as a team. It is not 'my way or the highway.'"

That does not mean that Rambhala is an absentee leader in any way. In fact, with the continued global expansion of the company, he has found himself travelling more and more to satisfy what he feels is the right amount of presence at the different offices around the global. "I am the face of the company. I have to show my face," he said.

Rambhala also professes to be a fiercely loyal individual and this pervades Avineon. In fact, the company has a no rehire policy that Rambhala firmly believes in. "I am very loyal to people who work in my company — and I expect the same thing also."

His leadership style very much follows a Golden Rule-type principle. "My philosophy is you treat others the way you like to be treated," he said. "That is the way I am."

Though Rambhala views successful management as mostly following common sense, he believes the best leaders are those who can be decisive. "You have to make quick decisions and risks," he said. "That goes with management. Unless you take risks there is no reward."

A native of India, Rambhala came to the United States in 1981 and attended the University of Michigan. He has a bachelor's degree and master's degree in engineering from the school, and also graduated from its executive program through the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He also has an undergraduate degree in marine engineering from Marine Engineering College in India. Prior to Avineon, Rambhala worked for Bethlehem Steel. Within three months of founding Avineon in 1992, the company had its first contract with the Department of Navy.

Though the government work is a hallmark of Avineon, Rambhala professes that branching into different arenas was a move decision to preserve the longevity of the company. "You can't rely on one customer or government agency," Rambhala said. "Suppose something goes wrong and their funding gets cut. You are their mercy and you may have to downsize.

"I am always looking for additional challenges," he added. "I am always looking for areas to expand."

The company, for example, has just recently released its new emergency management software, which streamlines emergency operations plans, standard operating procedures, storm restoration plans and communications plans. The product is targeted to help utility companies, municipalities, regulatory bodies and government agencies manage and monitor incident response.

It's just another spoke in the wheel of services that Rambhala believes will keep Avineon moving well in to the future.

"You have to change with time ... If you don't change you die," Rambhala said. "I have seen it happen and I don't want Avineon to be in that position, so we make sure we are always doing things different."