Government Contracting Community Loses Carleton Jones
Carleton Jones
Carleton S. Jones, a long-standing presence in the government contracting community, passed away yesterday.
Named on of ExecutiveBiz’s Top 20 People to Watch in 2009, Jones rose to prominence as CEO of Multimax, a federal IT provider. Following the $400 million sale of Multimax to Harris Corporation, Jones made the move to INDUS, where he served as president and vice chairman until 2008.
Retirement did not suit Jones. After a short stint on the golf course, he returned to federal contracting. Serving as senior adviser to Intelligent Decisions, Inc., CEO of Harris IT Services Corporation and vice chairman emeritus and president emeritus of INDUS, Jones remained a significant leader in federal IT contracting.
“I know that I can say that we all will miss Carleton and his positive, helpful, supportive and friendly personality,” said Shiv Krishnan, chairman and CEO of INDUS. “In the short few years that I have known him, he had made a huge impact on me, my family and all of our staff and friends of INDUS.”
My first day as a lawyer, I reported to Carleton Jones’ office. I asked if I should call him Carleton or Mr. Jones. He said Mr. Jones – and smiled. I worked for Carleton for about 5 years, representing Sysorex in many GSBCA protests. He was one of the smartest men I have ever met and certainly one of the funniest. He was an extraordinary writer. He was the person you always wanted to sit next to at dinner. I admired him very much and will miss him more.
For me, personally, he was a great mentor, industry titan, attorney, CEO, and great friend. He saw something in me when I was 19 years old working as an intern at Sysorex Information System and he was their attorney. He took chances with me and allowed me to help in bid protest (back then with the GSBCA), be an expert witness through depositions. Carleton taught me the importance of the rule of law and understanding the FARs.
I had the privilege of working with him here at ID as a colleague. In the short time he was here, everyone was met with a bright smile and his door was always open to anyone. He helped immensely in such a short period of time in helping us understand what it will take to get ID to the next level of success. He did all this in a very unselfish manner while battling cancer and going to chemotherapy every other Friday. In fact many days he would beat me to the office.
I am honored that I was able to be in his presence since mid part of last year and I was able to introduce him to people here at ID (my family).
[...] to his death in May 2011, Carleton Jones served as former president and vice chairman of INDUS Corporation, and as senior [...]