
DATE: Monday, March 24, 1997                TAG: 9703220942

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Q & A Column 

SOURCE: By Melissa Gundel 

                                            LENGTH:   73 lines

HARD WORK, SMART PEOPLE MAKE SERVICE COMPANY GROW

What does the company do?

In kind of generic terms, we are a professional services company. Under that umbrella, we provide support services to primarily the federal government in two general categories: one in the information processing part of it or computer science and the other focus in the company is engineering services.

Is Hampton the company's headquarters? Do you have other offices anywhere else?

Hampton is headquarters. We are spread around 35 locations which cover about 13 states and they run from Massachusetts to Florida on the East Coast and as far west as California.

What did you do before this?

I spent 30 years in the Army and retired out of the military in May of 1983. And I worked for another company, much larger company, for about 30 months. It was a professional services company.

What is your educational background?

I have an undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry from South Carolina State. I have a master's degree in international affairs fromGeorge Washington University.

Your company is considered fast growing. It has been ranked in Inc. Magazine's top 500 annual publication. How do you feel about this honor? How do you think you will fare this year?

We were in the 157th last year and ranked 14th in 1995. It's obviously a good feeling. It also makes you extremely proud of your employees. They're the ones who made all that happen.

What did you do to make this business so successful?

A lot of hard work. And surround yourself with not only with good, but smart people. You have to have people who believe in the same philosophies as you do and the same kind of culture, same kind of perseverance and integrity to make the chemistry correct.

What is your philosophy on running a successful business?

I guess in very simplistic terms you need to have quality performance done in a timely manner and at a reasonable acceptable cost.

What advice can you offer to have a successful business?

Dedicate yourself to doing it. And again surround yourself with good people. You have to keep foremost in your mind and you have to be fair and honest with your clients. And you need to have a lot of patience and a lot of perseverance.

Who are your company's primary customers?

Primary customers are the components of the Department of Defense, the Army, Navy, Air Force.

Where do you see your company heading in the future?

This year we're projecting revenues of about $88 million. And our employee strength will probably be a little over 1,300. MEMO: If you have an idea or know of anyone in the business community

who would make an interesting business profile, please fax your ideas to

Melissa Gundel at 446-2531. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Henry ``Hank'' Ellison is the founder and chief executive officer of

Information Technology Solutions, a private professional services

company in Hampton. Ellison founded the company in July 1987 and

was the only employee. Now the company has over 1,100 workers. In

the Tidewater area alone, there are probably over 300 employees. The

company has an office in Norfolk and Yorktown and two in Hampton.