JMU Federal Dukes Spotlight: Brett McLaren —Co-Founder, Chief Strategy Officer MetaPhase Consulting

Professional Bio

Brett McLaren is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of MetaPhase Consulting. Under Brett’s leadership, MetaPhase has grown from a startup to over 250 employees and $50M+ in annual revenue. Brett was selected as a “Washington Business Journal’s 40 under 40” for the culture-first model he established at MetaPhase. He led MetaPhase to be selected as a “Washington Post Best Places to Work” and to be named one of the 20 fastest growing consultancies in the US for the last 3 years running

JMU Major / Year Graduated

Computer Information Systems / 2004

Why did you choose JMU?

JMU is the best of all worlds. Not so small where you know everyone and yet not so large that you never feel community or get to deepen relationships with people you meet. The education programs are all very strongly suited for careers in the DC area which is where I knew I wanted to be.

How did your degree from JMU lead you to where you are today?

The Computer Information Systems degree I received from JMU turned out to be the perfect blend of technology and business education. It led me to the IT Consulting industry, and set me up to gain acceptance to a strong MBA program. It also armed me with the confidence to become an entrepreneur and the knowledge required to expand from a small startup to a company with hundreds of employees and over $50M in annual revenue.

What does working for the Federal Government community mean to you?

It is hard to fully appreciate the scale and impact of the problems we get to engage with in the Federal space. We are solving problems, modernizing, and innovating in support of the most successful government of the most powerful country in the world. Our work has local, national, and global level impact. When you step back you realize that supporting the Federal Government is the career opportunity of a lifetime.