West 4th CEO Robert Dowling Talks M&A Strategy & Company Origin

Robert Dowling is humble about his qualifications and leadership bona fides, but his resume suggests a finance and business guru twice his age. Dowling has deep experience in mergers and acquisitions—he has successfully brought to term more than 35 transactions in the government services and aerospace and defense markets, exceeding $2 billion in enterprise value. Dowling has been a vice president at KippsDeSanto, a VP at Enlightenment Capital and was in charge of financial integration for General Dynamics Information Technology’s acquisition of CSRA as a senior director.

As of November 2022, Dowling is chief executive at West 4th Strategy, a highly promising and fast-growing IT, data and professional services provider to the federal government.

GovCon Wire had the chance to catch up with Dowling recently to learn more about West 4th, including what he sees in the company, why he chose to come on board and what he thinks this unique organization can offer.

GovCon Wire: Tell us about West 4th Strategy’s inspiration.

Robert Dowling: From the hustle of the street courts to the spotlight of prime time, West 4th Strategy was born out of the same grit, drive and ambition that defines New York City’s iconic West 4th Street Basketball Courts—also known as “the Cage.” These courts are legendary, a proving ground where small teams and individuals, often overlooked, are relentless in their pursuit to leave their mark. It’s where passion overcomes odds, and underdogs can even challenge titans.

Inspired by the spirit of “the Cage,” our company began as a small, agile team, taking on problems head-on with tenacity and creativity. Just like those players in the heart of Greenwich Village, we understood that being smaller doesn’t mean being less capable—to us it means being more flexible, strategic and hungry. We embrace every challenge with the same mentality: outthink, outmaneuver and make every move count. 

As we’ve grown, we’ve taken our game from the neighborhood to the big leagues, expanding our impact while staying true to our roots. Accountability is at the core of our culture; we take complete ownership of our responsibilities and act transparently in all we do. This empowers every team member to reach their full potential, fostering an environment where innovation thrives and grit matters more than years of experience.

GCW: What defines the culture at West 4th?

Dowling: At West 4th Strategy, we believe in healthy competition—“iron sharpens iron”—where pushing each other helps us achieve our best. We accept nothing less than successful outcomes for our clients and celebrate accomplishments, big and small. We also encourage responsible risk-taking, promoting resilience, enhancing decision-making and fostering collaboration in a positive learning culture.

GCW: You acquired the company from founder Michael Sohal in November 2022. What was the impetus behind your decision?

Dowling: My goal wasn’t just to invest—it was to be a hands-on operator. For example, in my first month after acquiring West 4th in late 2022, I wrote four proposals. With support from our soon-to-be-hired chief operating officer, one of those proposals resulted in West 4th’s largest contract award to date. Before that experience, I would have thought “Section L” and “Section M” were locations at a football stadium.

Ultimately, my decision to acquire a business in this space came down to a few factors:

1. I had consistently demonstrated an ability to do well in roles for which I wasn’t conventionally qualified, from investment banking to working on integration and indirect rates at a large prime, to, eventually, private equity.
2. My true passion has always been training, coaching and mentoring—from benefiting from it myself at KippsDeSanto to eventually helping raw talent build their own skills to become well-rounded professionals.
3. For over 15 years, I worked closely with chief executive officers and executive teams in the federal space, learning from their successes and, more importantly, their lessons learned. I intently absorbed these experiences, weaving together the threads into my own style of leadership.

Our vision for West 4th now centers on a belief in people and their potential, and far beyond what they think they are capable of. It requires a daily commitment to pushing our team members out of their comfort zones and a stomach for underwriting the risk of failure.

I saw an opportunity to build a culture centered on empowerment, a disdain for micromanagement and freedom to innovate—an interesting concoction that becomes highly potent when blended with 15 years of federal mergers and acquisitions expertise and a realistic understanding of M&A outcomes. Despite the optimistic narratives, many acquisitions fall short of expectations. M&A success isn’t about achieving improbable synergies; instead, it’s about (1.) reasonable expectations, (2.) preserving what already works well and (3.) ensuring the business’s weaknesses align with your strengths.

GCW: What made West 4th your ideal target?

Dowling: Finding the right platform was more challenging than I initially anticipated. Now that I meet with other aspiring entrepreneurs in similar positions, I have even more appreciation for the challenge they face. What made the search so challenging, and why was West 4th the right fit? I needed a business with a solid foundation and an owner selling at a good time for both the business and themselves, which is more often just the latter.

I was fortunate to meet Michael Sohal, whose passion for challenging the norms of government contracting resonated deeply with me. Michael questioned the “known truths” about starting and growing a business in this market, establishing a countercultural DNA that aligned perfectly with my own entrepreneurial path. After some encouragement from a third party, Michael and I met for coffee in Vienna. We struck a deal in 45 minutes, closed in under three months and have remained close friends. Our relationship was built on honesty and an uncompromising commitment to our word—principles that continue to underpin our friendship today.

So far, the cultural hypothesis has proven true, allowing us to be selective in our leadership additions, ensuring that resourcefulness and accountability are central to our entire team. At West 4th, no one is bigger than the collective, myself included. While many things may change for us in the years ahead, I am confident this ideology will remain unchanged.

GCW: After over a year of investments and establishment, in January 2024, you decided you were ready to grow inorganically. Tell us about what went into the decision to acquire Integrated Systems.

Dowling: A core tenet of West 4th’s approach to M&A is that they are much like relationships: there are many opportunities, but every business, like every person, has its imperfections. Success often comes from finding a partner whose strengths complement your weaknesses, and vice versa. It may not be the flashiest approach, but focus on the basics helps us mitigate risks in a landscape filled with potential pitfalls.

The challenging part is conducting an honest and introspective assessment of your business’s actual strengths and weaknesses—not just the idealized version. This perspective allows us to shift our focus away from searching for a mythical “purple unicorn” and instead identify opportunities where we are unlikely to disrupt the acquired business strengths and can effectively enhance its growth potential.

With this approach in mind, we were introduced to Integrated Systems, or ISI, in early 2024. We found their strong reputation with core customers attractive and successfully closed the acquisition on August 8. We weren’t specifically targeting a company with Internal Revenue Service and Securities and Exchange Commission experience, or even one solely focused on civilian markets. What we were really after was complementary capabilities, a solid reputation, access to contract vehicles and the ability to navigate whatever changes the next administration might bring.

GCW: How has the acquisition turned out?

Dowling: It’s still early, but so far, we’ve successfully completed the integration of ISI at the end of November—no small feat considering ISI was nearly 1.5 times the size of West 4th. The personnel fit has been fantastic, and the revenue synergy opportunities have exceeded our expectations. At this point, we feel lucky to have found and brought together two great businesses as well as executed the integration so smoothly. It hasn’t been without its challenges, but we are confident that we have the right team in place to identify and integrate the next acquisition. The only questions now are when and which business.

GCW: Where does the company stand today and what are your main areas of expertise?

Dowling: Today, West 4th Strategy stands as a rising force—nimble enough to adapt quickly yet big enough to tackle the toughest opportunities. Just like the players at West 4th who move from street legends to primetime stars, we are stepping up—transforming our early wins into an ever-growing legacy of success.

Currently ranked number 16 on the Fast 50, West 4th Strategy specializes in program management, professional services, data analytics and IT modernization. Based in Tysons Corner, Virginia, we continue to build upon our culture of determination, drive and doing things our way. At West 4th Strategy, we believe that with the right moves, even the smallest team can take on the giants and come out on top.

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