KNOXVILLE—Ingenium Professional Services Inc., co-owned by University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Professional MBA graduates Mike and Kathleen Schlitz, has earned its third small business award of the year—the Y-12 National Security Complex 2010 Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year award.
Mike Schlitz graduated in 2004; his wife, Kathleen, graduated in 2008.
Earlier this year, the Schlitzes’ company won the Oak Ridge National Laboratory 2010 Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business of the Year award and the Department of Energy’s 2010 Protégé of the Year award. The awards recognize small businesses that provide superior services and innovative solutions to promote the Department of Energy’s mission objectives and requirements.
Established in October 2006, Ingenium is a an Knoxville-based engineering and environmental services firm that works with both government and commercial industries, including the Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Y-12 National Security Complex, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The company has experienced triple-digit yearly growth since its inception.
Mike Schlitz credits UT’s Professional MBA program for his company’s accomplishments.
“The program gave me the confidence I needed to launch and lead our company to the success it enjoys today,” he said. “Professor Gallagher’s lecture on ‘power and people’ was one of the most influential lessons of my life. I still have the PowerPoint on my desktop today. Winning these three awards reaffirms my commitment to the education and values I gained in the Professional MBA program.”
Kathleen Schlitz attributes the program’s integrated curriculum for preparing them to wear the many hats needed to launch a successful small business.
“When we started, we worked out of our basement and quickly had to become our own marketing, sales, and finance departments,” she said. “Owning our own business has allowed us to grow in ways we could never have imagined.”
Kathleen Schlitz also said relationships with other Professional MBA alumni have become some of the company’s most valuable assets.
Ingenium is a recent graduate of the Department of Energy’s Mentor Protégé Program, which works to enhance the capabilities of small businesses to perform contracts and subcontracts for the federal government.
—
C O N T A C T :
Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, craines1@utk.edu)