Why relationships are key for military and commercial success

On UK Armed Forces Day, we show our support for the contributions of military personnel across the Armed Forces. For those who are coming to the end of their military career, however, the more pressing focus is not what they've already achieved, but how to make the most of their skills and experience going forwards.

For Steve Deacon, that point came after more than three and a half decades spent with the Royal Navy. Having only ever had one employer — aside from a summer job in the London Stock Exchange — the task of figuring out his future was daunting. The advice available was extensive, but confusing, and often overwhelming. Fortunately, a strong network and support system helped him through the quagmire.

A chat with an old Ministry of Defence (MOD) colleague who had moved into industry kicked things off by helping Deacon land a contractor role with Leidos UK & Europe. Still, Deacon knew he wanted his next step to be something more permanent.

Deacon had several passionate discussions with people within Leidos about deepening its maritime capabilities, an area of considerable expertise for him. After Deacon had been contracting for less than a month, Eric Freeman, at the time the company's UK chief operating officer, asked him to stay in the London office for a chat later that Friday afternoon about Leidos UK’s maritime strategy. The problem: he was already booked onto a train home to Cornwall at 11:30 a.m. to make an evening event.

Still, after asking to postpone the meeting, Deacon had a re-think.

“I said to myself, ‘show some commitment and respect,'" he explains. "In my previous life, if a senior officer asked for a meeting, you accepted and seized the opportunity to learn from their experience — no difference here."

He changed his train and waited for Freeman to come out of his earlier meetings. Freeman said how much he appreciated that level of resolve, and two hours of in-depth discussion birthed a potential new business opportunity within the maritime industry. 

A year and a half later, Freeman moved up to become UK CEO, and the relationship between the two continues today. Meanwhile, due in no small part to his dedication to creating these kinds of connections, Deacon has moved into a permanent role as a business development manager (Defence) focused within Leidos’ maritime capabilities environment.

Still, Deacon emphasizes that building a good network shouldn’t mean just looking up the hierarchy. What’s important is trying to understand what’s going on with all colleagues — from the people at the front door to the people in the head office — so that business challenges can be solved together.

That attitude was drilled into him during his 37 years in the Navy, concluding with a three-year period as UK Defence Attaché to Egypt for the MOD. In this role, he managed a small team of people and was responsible for the Defence relationship between Egypt and UK. The job was eclectic, involving everything from overseeing the security for royal visits to making sure the kitchen water cooler bottle got changed.

"Many of them were younger than my daughter is now, and it’s often their first time away from home — so you do become something of a father figure to them, sharing your experiences to mentor and help them navigate the challenges of working away from family support," Deacon adds.

That military bond persists, giving Deacon an instant connection with the many other veterans and reservists in the business development team and with Leidos' defence customers.

“In 2023, I was running a Leidos demo stand at the DSEI [Defence and Security Equipment International] trade show when the Chief of Defence, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, came to visit,” Deacon says. “I know him from previous roles and had earned his trust, so he greeted me warmly and gave me a good 10 minutes of his time. I walked him around our autonomy and underwater capabilities, and all the while he was pointing all the things out that he thought they needed from us.”

Even more important than Deacon’s ability to build personal connections, however, is his deep understanding of how military expenditure works, accumulated during his time in MOD Main Building as capability sponsor for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers with a £3.6 billion budget and a challenging schedule to maintain. Despite the occasional challenges in the press, it remains a point of pride to have helped deliver the two largest warships every built for the Royal Navy.

“I had three years of experience with the budget cycle of the MOD, how they fight for money, how to allocate it, and all the challenges they face,” he says. “So when it comes to understanding how the MOD buys stuff, I’ve lived and breathed that process and I know what the priorities are.”

Meeting those priorities is not just a matter of good business for Deacon, it’s about the responsibility that he feels to the men and women who still serve and who make up his extended military family. What makes Leidos such a good place for veterans to work, he says, is a sense that the company as a whole shares that mission — something that has contributed to the company recently being ranked 10th in the UK as one of the Great British Employers of Veterans for 2024.

“When I talk to our Navy customers, I tell them, ‘I may now work in industry, but cut me in half, and it says Royal Navy,’” he explains. “'You cannot just switch off a lifetime of commitment and dedication, and what I want is to build a partnership that’s not just about profit but delivering the best for outcomes for us all. Leidos has exceptional maritime, autonomy, and underwater capability and I genuinely believe a partnership would be good for the Navy.'

Deacon closes, "When I looked at Leidos’ integrity and moral values, it’s a great fit for ex-military because they really do walk that walk.”

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