LEHIGH CO., Pa. – From serving in the military to now protecting companies and government agencies against cyber threats, Michael Hawkins is the founder and CEO of South Whitehall Township-based cyber security company Netizen Corporation.
“It’s been a lifelong passion of mine,” said Hawkins.
69 News sat down for a one-on-one interview with Hawkins.
Netizen has more than 30 employees and offices in Virginia and South Carolina. The company recently secured a contract to do work for NASA.
“That’s going to be a probably really, really big contract for us. It’s predominantly a new market for us,” said Hawkins.
Hawkins said this contract is a little bit different for Netizen.
“A lot of hardware, software type sales type stuff. It’s something we’ve been wanting to expand into for a very long time. It’s extremely lucrative and we’re really looking forward to that,” said Hawkins.
Netizen was also awarded a $179 million contract with the Department of Homeland Security, doing IT and cyber security for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
“So, we see a lot of expansion coming not only here, but nationwide. We’ll probably triple our size over the next twelve months,” said Hawkins.
Hawkins said the company does work for at least a dozen government agencies each year. He said the Lehigh Valley’s proximity to major metro areas and much lower cost of living compared to larger areas are a couple of reasons which make it an ideal place for the company headquarters to stay for the foreseeable future.
“It’s an easy place to hire in, there’s so much going on in the Lehigh Valley; it’s growing so fast. It really sells itself,” said Hawkins.
Hawkins said in addition to these long-term contracts, Netizen has bids for several more. The company is also negotiating with more agencies and there are new commercial customers it is onboarding.
Jack’s full interview below: