Eric Steele serves as Vice President, Contracts Administration, bringing specialized federal acquisition expertise and a proven track record of ensuring organizational compliance, operational continuity, and strategic growth across government contracting environments. A U.S. Navy veteran with distinguished service as a Quartermaster Second Class (Surface Warfare), Eric combines deep practical knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) with exceptional cross-functional leadership skills that bridge contracts, business development, finance, and operations.

Throughout his career as a Contracts Administrator at EM Key Solutions, Inc., Eric managed the full contract lifecycle for portfolios generating approximately $20 million in annual revenue, overseeing prime contracts, subcontracts, and task orders across multiple federal contract vehicles including Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP), Time-and-Materials (T&M), Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF), Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA), and Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) arrangements. His responsibilities encompassed pre-award activities such as drafting solicitations, negotiating teaming agreements, and managing representations and certifications, as well as post-award administration including modifications, invoice reconciliation, compliance reporting, and audit readiness preparation. Eric was recognized as the organizational subject-matter expert for Unanet financial systems administration, where he held one of only two administrator-level authorizations to build projects, establish billing schedules, and assign labor categories across all direct projects—a critical capability for maintaining billing accuracy, project controls, and DCAA audit support.

Eric’s strategic contributions extended beyond transactional contract management to include risk mitigation and business development enablement. He maintained insurance coverage portfolios exceeding $7 million across Defense Base Act (DBA), cybersecurity, errors and omissions (E&O), crime, and liability policies, ensuring continuous compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements. He facilitated partnership development by providing Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), teaming agreements, and certifications that enabled business growth initiatives. His meticulous approach to compliance included submitting quarterly and annual GSA and Florida MarketPlace sales reports, conducting annual audits, and reorganizing contract repositories to maintain audit-ready documentation standards. During EMKS’s acquisition of CORTEK, Eric played a pivotal role in the successful integration of legal, financial, and contract records, demonstrating his ability to navigate complex organizational transitions while preserving operational integrity.

Eric’s expertise spans the full spectrum of federal procurement activities, including acquisition planning and strategy development, source selection support, cost and price analysis, small business subcontracting and socioeconomic compliance, Statement of Work (SOW) and Performance Work Statement (PWS) development, vendor performance evaluation, and Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) documentation. He is proficient in key procurement systems including Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), System for Award Management (SAM.gov), Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS), and CPARS, and maintains strong working relationships with Contracting Officers (KOs), Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs), and Program Managers across federal agencies.

Before entering the government contracting sector, Eric honed his leadership and operational management capabilities through diverse professional experiences. During his decade of honorable service in the U.S. Navy from 2002 to 2011, he managed more than 10,000 navigational charts in compliance with maritime regulations, was selected as one of four leaders to supervise brig operations with over 100 detainees, and trained, supervised, and evaluated more than 50 sailors while authoring over 250 performance evaluations. His subsequent roles as Sous Chef and Chef at The Bearded Lady and Downtown Grill further developed his vendor management, inventory control, team leadership, and quality assurance skills, where he managed bi-weekly orders of approximately $10,000, supervised more than 20 kitchen staff members, and successfully navigated over 50 state and county health inspections.

Eric holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Texas Wesleyan University, where he achieved Dean’s List recognition and membership in Tau Sigma Honor Society, and earned a Diplôme de Cuisine from Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta. His professional certifications include Microsoft Office Specialist 2013, completion of the Federal Publications Seminars’ First Year Contract Administrator Training, and extensive Unanet University coursework in Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger, and Project Management. He meets OPM 1102 specialized experience requirements and is eligible for Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Level I certification, positioning him as a qualified federal acquisition professional capable of providing strategic advisory services across the full spectrum of government contracting activities.