He guided the process of integrating two firms

Published July 28, 2017 by Joan Tupponce

PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES
Wayne Rehberger

Engility Holdings Inc., Chantilly

In 2015, Wayne Rehberger completed one of the most challenging tasks of his career. He integrated two companies of roughly equal size, helping to create a combined corporation with annual revenue of $2.1 billion and more than 9,100 employees worldwide.

Rehberger had been the CFO of TASC Inc., which was acquired by Engility Holdings Inc. in a stock deal worth $1.3 billion.  With the acquisition, he became the CFO of Engility, now one of the 50 largest publicly traded companies in Virginia.

The two companies, both based in Chantilly, provided technical services to the federal government. TASC focused on the intelligence community, while Engility largely served the Defense Department and civil federal agencies.

“The main reason for the merger was TASC’s large intelligence business, which helped balance Engility’s strategic portfolio,” says Rehberger.

Bringing the two companies together included meshing their “cultural, system and process differences,” Rehberger says. “You have to meld them into a new business paradigm going forward.”

Under his guidance, the integration was completed on time and on budget. “That’s rare,” says Engility’s CEO Lynn Dugle. “Wayne was a driving force in setting high standards and helping people when they needed it. I give him full credit on the way that integration came through. That was the foundation of a brand-new company.”

David Topper of General Atlantic LLC, a global private-equity firm, says Rehberger’s appointment as CFO of the combined company was a key part of the acquisition.  General Atlantic and the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. owned a controlling interest in privately held TASC and now are major Engility shareholders. “I wasn’t going to do it if he wasn’t there, and I knew we were in safe hands,”  Topper says. “He has the whole package, and that is a rare thing to find.”

Rehberger is a strategic thinker who is honest in his interactions, Topper adds. “He will always tell everybody, including his boss, exactly what he thinks, so I know we are hearing exactly … what’s going on with the company. The sheer level of confidence the board has in him is very high.”

Originally from Peekskill, N.Y., Rehberger started working toward his MBA when he was a captain in the U.S. Army. “I think what the military does is give you a jumpstart on understanding organizational complexity and how to deal with that and how to mentor and coach individuals,” he says. “When you are thrust in a role as a young officer, you learn your responsibility around that.”

After the military, he worked at a variety of companies, including the accounting and professional services firm KPMG and telecommunications firm MCI. He was CFO and chief operating officer of the telecommunications company XO Communications before joining TASC. Under Rehberger’s leadership, Engility has strengthened its balance sheet by refinancing its debt, extending maturities and increasing the size of its credit facility. The company has reduced its annualized interest expense by $23 million. The additional cash flow generated by the refinancing contributed to the retirement of more than $90 million in debt this year.

Dugle sees Rehberger’s background in finance and operations as a good balance. “I have worked with financial leadership at multiple companies, and Wayne is the best I have worked with,” she says. “He has great business acumen, and he has a unique ability with people. He can hold people to hard standards and ask tough questions. He builds respect in both good times and challenging times.”