The Optimize Podcast

What does it really take to succeed as a freelance bid professional? Freelancing can offer greater freedom, flexibility and control over how you work, but it also comes with uncertainty, financial responsibility and the need to continually build your reputation and network. In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, brought to you by VisibleThread , Matt Light is joined by Lucy Davis , an experience...

What does social value really mean in public sector procurement? It’s no longer simply a box-ticking exercise. As social value becomes a more significant part of public sector bids, organizations need to think carefully about what they can genuinely deliver, how they will measure it, and how it connects to the priorities of the buyer and the communities they serve. In this episode of the Optimize...

Why should design be part of the bid process from the start? Great bid design is about more than making a proposal look good. It can help shape content, improve messaging, make information easier to digest and create a better experience for evaluators. In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, brought to you by VisibleThread, guest host Matt Light is joined by Victoria McAleese , Senior Bid Design...

What makes a great bid writer? It's not just the ability to write well. The strongest bid writers ask the right questions, understand the customer, challenge assumptions and help shape winning solutions long before the proposal is written. In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, brought to you by VisibleThread, guest host Matt Light is joined by Elizabeth Hibbert , Proposal Writer at CGI, to disc...

The Reality and Future of UK Capture What is capture, and why is it becoming an essential part of successful business winning? In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, Matt Light is joined by Georgina Ayilara , Head of Tendering at Cyclife UK and author of The Current State of UK Capture white paper. Together, they explore why capture should be viewed as a business-wide discipline rather than simp...

More than a year after the UK Procurement Act came into force, what has changed for buyers, suppliers, and bid teams? In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, Matt Light is joined by Gemma Waring, Director of G Waring Consulting, procurement consultant, trainer, and public sector tendering specialist, to explore how the Procurement Act is shaping public sector procurement in practice. Drawing on h...

What does the next generation of bid professionals want from the industry and what can the industry learn from them? In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, Matt Light is joined by Michael Chacko, Technical Bid Writer at Tecknuovo and APMP Practitioner, to discuss attracting, developing, and retaining the next generation of bid and proposal professionals. Drawing on his experience entering the pr...

In this episode, we explore the shift from manual market intelligence to the automated, high-security future of bidding. Guest Tim Brett discusses his transition from GovWin IQ to VisibleThread and the vision behind the 7.0 platform. We tackle the frustration of FOIA processes, the "last mile" of proposal compliance, and how to use data to "fail fast" on the wrong bids.     Topics Discussed: The t...

In this episode of The Optimize Podcast , we sit down with Harrison Smith , a seasoned leader in federal acquisition innovation. Smith recounts his journey from a Presidential Management Fellow to leading digitalization efforts at the IRS and acting as an Innovation Advocate at the FDIC. The conversation centers on a shocking reality: the high cost of government "silence." Smith explains how compl...

The federal government is increasingly looking outside traditional procurement cycles to find the next generation of technology. In this deep-dive episode, Angela Donahoo joins host Chris Hamm to demystify the "alphabet soup" of innovation authorities—including SBIR , STT , and CSOs .     Angie recounts her career pivot from traditional federal contracting to standing up GSA’s first innovation-foc...

In this episode of the Optimize podcast, host Chris Hamm sits down with Jim Ghiloni , CEO of GhilCon, LLC, and a seasoned veteran of government contracting. Jim shares his unconventional path from being a Soviet history expert to becoming a pivotal architect of GSA’s most successful contract vehicles, including Alliant and Oasis. The conversation provides a deep dive into the evolution of Governme...

Modernization isn’t just a technology problem—it’s a funding model, risk model, and governance problem. In this episode of Optimize , Chris Hamm talks with Vaughn Noga , former EPA Chief Information Officer , about what it takes to modernize in government when every change creates operational churn and oversight pressure. Vaughn explains why Working Capital Funds can enable continuous modernizatio...

What’s really changing in the GovCon bid and contracts landscape—and what does that mean for the people doing the work? In this episode, host Chris Hamm brings the evaluator viewpoint (1,000+ proposals reviewed across written evaluations, orals, demos, and source selections) into a practical conversation with Kyle Peterson, a former aerospace contracts manager who now leads Customer Success at Vis...

In this episode of Optimize , host Chris Hamm sits down with Lisa Grant, a veteran acquisition leader whose career spans mission-critical federal contracting and senior procurement leadership, including serving as Deputy Clerk and Chief Procurement Officer for the U.S. House. Lisa walks through the experiences that shaped her leadership style, from high-tempo environments where timelines and conse...

In this episode of Optimize , host Chris Hamm sits down with Soraya Correa —former Chief Procurement Officer and Senior Procurement Executive at the Department of Homeland Security—to get specific about what it actually takes to modernize acquisition from the inside. Soraya walks through her career path across procurement and program leadership, then explains how she launched the DHS Procurement I...

In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, host Chris Hamm sits down with David Rothzeid — Principal at Shield Capital , U.S. Air Force reservist, and former acquisition lead at Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) — for a candid look at how protests, OTAs, and SBIR policy really shape DoD innovation. David walks through his journey from ROTC and early Air Force contracting roles to DIU, where he helped st...

In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, host Chris Hamm (CEO, FIN Acquisitions & former SES at GSA AAS) sits down with Robert (“Bob”) Niewood , a career GSA acquisition and systems leader turned consultant, to unpack how federal procurement actually works under the hood. Bob walks through his 20+ year journey at GSA — from intern and contracting officer to director of systems and HCA for the Mult...

Rob Burton brings over three decades of legal and procurement experience to this candid episode of the Optimize Podcast. In conversation with host Chris Hamm, Rob dives into the growing use of AI in bid protests—some of which are generating “hallucinated” claims that frustrate GAO reviewers. They break down the scope of the FAR overhaul, the implications of GSA’s OneGov consolidation effort, and h...

Guest: Alan Thomas, Founder of AlphaTango Strategies & Former Commissioner, GSA FAS 🎧 Host: Chris Hamm, CEO of FIN Acquisitions & Former SES, GSA AAS Defense 📄 Episode Description: In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, host Chris Hamm kicks off Series 4 with a powerful conversation with Alan Thomas—former Commissioner of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. Together, they dig into what it reall...

Episode Title: 2025 Unfolded – Essential Insights from the Optimize Podcast 2025 is here, and the lessons from last year’s top conversations are more relevant than ever. In this special compilation, The Optimize Podcast host Jeff Shapiro takes you through the most valuable moments from Series 3—insights you can use to sharpen your strategy and stay ahead in the evolving world of government contrac...

Episode Title: FAR 2.0, Fewer People, Bigger Bets: Surviving the Next GovCon Wave 👤 Guest: Erv Koehler, former Assistant Commissioner, GSA’s Office of General Supplies and Services 🎧 Host: Jeff Shapiro, Optimize Podcast 📄 Episode Description: In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, host Jeff Shapiro is joined by Erv Koehler, a former senior leader at GSA, to discuss what FAR 2.0 and current pr...

No Corners Cut: Building, Growing, and Selling in GovCon 👤 Guest: Donna Honeycutt, Co-founder & former COO of WWC Global 🎧 Host: Jeff Shapiro, Optimize Podcast 📄 Episode Description: In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, host Jeff Shapiro is joined by Donna Honeycutt, co-founder and former COO of WWC Global—a pioneering government contracting firm known for its commitment to military spouses...

In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, Jeff Shapiro speaks with Allison Ritz, a GovCon expert and Director of Product Marketing at VisibleThread. Together, they unpack the shifting rules of federal procurement—from the ripple effects of the MAPS acquisition to the rise of AI in capture and proposal processes. Allison discusses what consolidation really means for niche contractors, why subcontrac...

Guest: Chris Hamm, former Director, GSA Assisted Acquisition Services 🎧 Host: Jeff Shapiro, Optimize Podcast 📄 Episode Description: In this episode of the Optimize Podcast, Jeff Shapiro sits down with former GSA leader Chris Hamm to explore the state—and future—of federal procurement. With firsthand experience at the helm of GSA’s Assisted Acquisition Services, Chris shares his perspective on th...

In this episode of the Visible Threads Optimized Podcast, host Jeff Shapiro speaks with Amber Kodish, a seasoned expert in government contracting. They discuss Amber's journey into the GovCon space, the cyclical nature of government contracting, and the current challenges and opportunities within the industry. Amber emphasizes the importance of understanding core capabilities, networking, and buil...