Leandre Takes Black Engineer of the Year Entrepreneur Award

By Reed Hellman, STAFF WRITER



For Alland Leandre, winning the 2008 Black Engineer of the Year Entrepreneur Award is the latest link in a chain of events that began in the summer of 1976. Born in Haiti in 1966, some members of Leandre's family began immigrating to the United States when he was 3 years old, relocating to Washington, D.C. In the Bicentennial summer, he and his brother came to visit those relatives, just in time for the fireworks and hoopla surrounding the nation's 200th birthday.

"You can't imagine what that was like," he recalled. "I fell in love with the U.S. on the spot, even as a young person, 11 years old."

By 1980, Leandre had returned to the United States to stay and enrolled in school in Washington. Events of the tumultuous early 1980s "... cemented something in my head, a sense of patriotism for this country." That feeling would only increase in the coming years.



Northern Exposure

Enamored with avionics and aerospace science, Leandre enrolled in Syracuse University to study engineering and found upstate New York's snow belt a radical change from Caribbean Haiti and temperate Washington, D.C. "In the winter, the only way you could recognize your friends was by their gait and the color of their coat." In addition, more than just the weather, "... I was exposed to real life."

His love for his new country led him to join the Air Force ROTC, but he found he couldn't go to flight school and was not content to accept a desk job. Graduating Syracuse in 1988, he married Lisa Jennings, a student at Ohio's Wittenberg University "... even before I had received my diploma."

The couple returned to the Washington area and Leandre went to work for a defense contractor in the satellite industry, learning more about the avionics and aerospace fields. He also enlisted in the Army National Guard's officer training program and became a lieutenant in the combat engineers. "Being a civilian soldier gave me balance and discipline," he said.

Leandre got involved with electronic warfare systems, infrared and radar technology on a contract for the U.S. Navy. In 1997, he worked for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), leading a team developing the Navy's F-18EF fighter's electronics warfare suite. The project was accepted and that became a "huge milestone" for Leandre.



A New Direction

Making a drastic career shift, he quit his "good paying government job" in 2000, to go back to school at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business to earn an MBA. After receiving the degree, he took an internship in investment and telecom banking during the summer of 2001, just in time to see the telecom industry melt down. He also learned that he didn't particularly like working in the investment banking industry.

Once again looking for a new challenge, he faced the question: "What else do I want to do?" He decided to try an entrepreneurial route. "I had a window that was opening. I was already broke, so how bad could it be?"

Leandre and his wife wanted to return to this area to be with their families. He also recognized that the defense industry has a strong regional presence here. Moving back in 2002, he launched Vyalex, a consulting firm, initially headquartered in a small bedroom in his family's home, using a single laptop and renting space in the public library. By 2003, he was hiring help, and a year later, brought on Jean-Robert (Bob) Anantua, an old friend, as executive vice president and chief operating officer.



'We Need to Make a Difference'

Today, Vyalex Management Solutions-named for Leandre's three daughters - Verida, Yvette and Alex - has grown to become a prime contractor specializing in avionics engineering and program management services. Employing more than 30 people in the Columbia headquarters and in a field office in Lexington Park, Md., the company crafts detailed strategies to map and evaluate avionics engineering alternatives, develop resource allocation models, integrate and support new avionics systems, and develop airborne software and hardware electronic systems.

A typical project involves providing analysis to determine which defense systems will best serve the Navy's light helicopters. Vyalex also manages a NAVAIR program with Morgan State University's Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., School of Engineering, placing 10 student interns at NAVAIR's Lexington Park facility. Leandre eventually hopes to expand that program to encompass all historically black colleges and universities. "We need to make a difference," he said, "And pass along the love of engineering."

Leandre also hopes that the national recognition that comes with the Black Engineer of the Year Entrepreneur Award will give him the platform to influence the Department of Defense and defense contractors to expand their diversity programs and reach out to school-age children. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Navy Admiral Michael G. Mullen, the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, applauded Leandre's efforts.

When asked about his future, Leandre said, "I want to be running a truly global technology firm. ... I want to make a difference in the lives of the kids graduating from our schools." It's a fitting goal for a man who still fondly recalls that Bicentennial summer of 1976.