Lauren Wittenberg Weiner is an accidental entrepreneur who found unexpected success in the male-dominated field of military contracting by changing the rules of the game.
WWC Global provides military spouses with a network of trusted individuals, focused on their careers. Each chapter offers referrals, contacts and events to aid in their professional progression. The company has a wide portfolio of clients including the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Wittenberg Weiner started WWC Global when she could not get a job as a military spouse stationed overseas. What started as a way for Wittenberg Weiner to do some part-time consulting work until she could move back to Washington, D.C. and restart her career, instead turned into one of the largest privately held government contracting firms in Tampa Bay.
Under her leadership, WWC Global won the largest award ever to a woman-owned small business in U.S. Special Operations Command Headquarters history, a $200 million contract to provide training and military exercise support with Special Operators (Navy SEALs, Green Berets, and others) around the world.
Over the course of almost 20 years, she and her team built the company to almost $100 million in annual revenue before selling the company to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) in 2022.
Since the original founding of the firm in 2004, WWC Global employed over 250 military spouses and kept dozens of them employed through multiple military moves, some for over 15 years. Wittenberg Weiner also co-founded the very first nonprofit organization, In Gear Career, and co-founded Homefront Rising, a program to train military spouses to engage in the political process as candidates and elected officials, political and policy staffers, and advocates.
Her success has earned recognition as a Tampa Bay business woman, and the firm was named a fast 50, largest government contracting firm, and largest woman-owned firm by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Empowering others is a passion for Wittenberg Weiner. Without a doubt, my biggest superpower is creating non-transactional, deep relationships, and then using them to make connections among people and build everyone up in the process, she said. Doing things for others without expecting anything in return, ironically, pays substantial dividends that aren’t one-for-one, not only for you but for everyone else around you.
It’s strength of character and a strong moral compass that helps her lead with success, said Wittenberg Weiner.
There are so many opportunities to get ahead by doing the wrong thing, but a good leader will pursue those things that are right for the company, the team, and the greater good, and recognize that the success that comes from that is more meaningful and lasting, she said.
