Our History

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS, INC.

OUR HISTORY

Strategic Analysis, Inc. (SA) was founded by Bradford L. Smith, Jr., and began operations in May of 1986 in Arlington, Virginia. SA quickly established a name for itself by winning competitive contracts from the Office of Naval Research, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, all to support technical studies and key national security science and technology (S&T) programs. 

Today, SA remains headquartered in Arlington and our primary focus continues to be on national security. Through our many successes, we have expanded and diversified our core capabilities to align with our ever-changing environment; grown and expanded our operations to support clients across multiple Government agencies; and successfully transitioned to the second generation of family ownership and leadership when Ms. Lindsay Samora assumed the role of President and CEO.

Ms. Samora and Mr. Smith are both deeply committed to the values and mission of SA and they, along with the entire SA leadership team, ensure that our priorities of providing the highest quality support to customers; hiring and inspiring good people to do great things; focusing on SA as an “extended family,” and working together to build a better community align with our core values and remain the same today as they did 35+ years ago.

A LETTER FROM OUR FOUNDER

“Thirty years ago, on May 13, 1986, I started SA because I wanted to create a company that would focus on the feasibility of cutting-edge technology for the Federal Government. I wanted the company to address the needs of the technologies being developed and the clients developing them, not a bottom line. Most importantly, I wanted to create an environment where employees were free to be creative and contribute to innovative technologies that would ultimately benefit the warfighter and the Nation. Two others joined soon thereafter. Alice Burgess, our current COO, and I are still here.

Early on, our company mission was to be a premier analytics company supporting the US Government in areas of national security. We started as a projects-oriented company, tackling specific subjects and delivering reports and briefings to Department of Defense and Energy clients. We worked for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Office of Naval Research, branching into the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1987. From this starting point, we have grown person by person to support many clients in a variety of different ways from technical to programmatic, which would eventually be what is known as SETA services today. Over time we built an organizational structure that emphasized what we were good at–providing the best professional services and support to our clients. Now we are organized around our amazing clients. 

At our core, it is our employees that make up SA. Their skills, their experience, their attention to detail are who we are today. Our clients indicate their support through praise and by awarding new contracts. Our leadership team is looking to everyone for the next new capability or new client for our company. Our future continues to look bright. Thanks to everyone and may there be many more celebrations, both big and small, as we move into this future.”

-Bradford L. Smith, Jr. Founder, 2019

NAVIGATION
WHAT SA EMPLOYEES ARE SAYING...
“I like how SA’s business model is centered on an ethical foundation for its environment, clients, employees, and communities.”