About Zetta Solutions

Al Nardslico

Managing Venturer Committee Member and Managing Director

Al Nardslico is an upstate New York-born Computer Engineer and businessman who truly enjoys the challenge of business. After completing service with the US Navy in 1986, Mr. Nardslico worked as an engineering consultant at Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory in the Advanced Systems Design Group. Mr. Nardslico received his degree in Computer Science and Information Systems from the State University of New York (ESC) and after some brief independent consulting “gigs”, co-founded Systems Made Simple (SMS) in 1991. Mr. Nardslico managed daily operations and P&L responsibilities within SMS for 20 years as Chairman of the Board, President and principal founder. During his tenure SMS evolved from a ‘garage startup’ to an industry-leading Federal Health IT Company with hundreds of employees nationwide and over $350 million in sales, annually. SMS achieved INC 5000 honors six years running with INC 500 honors in two of those years until its “entrepreneurial American Dream” sale to Lockheed Martin in the Fall of 2014.

Mr. Nardslico’s career experience has given him a unique and broad understanding of all aspects related to organically growing a startup company into an industry-leading powerhouse. Mr. Nardslico is a process guru who has worked architecting and implementing business processes focused on maturing businesses ranging from startups to multi-billion-dollar enterprises. He has lead teams of executives in both Fortune 500 companies (Eastman Kodak, Carrier Corp., IBM) and major federal agencies (Dept. of Veterans Affairs, HHS, SSA) to define, refine, and institute complex and unique business processes. Applying these skills to SMS he was able to grow SMS from obscurity to one of the largest and most respected Federal Health IT providers in the industry.

Armed with a “roll up your sleeves” approach, Mr. Nardslico is a strategic thinker who has mentored a number of successful executives throughout the years. He supports a portfolio of small entrepreneur businesses as a Board of Director, member, and executive management consultant. He has a knack for building and maintaining high-performance management teams which are at the heart of every successful business. His role as the primary shareholder and as the Shareholder Representative in the sale of SMS to Lockheed Martin gave him firsthand experience with negotiating large-scale M&A transactions. At the time of its sale to Lockheed Martin, SMS had zero debt and over one billion dollars in booked business. Mr. Nardslico is focused on leveraging his experiences and practical knowledge to work with other entrepreneurs. Mr. Nardslico’s highly respected career as a leader, innovator, and visionary along with his rare ability to motivate and inspire uniquely qualifies him as a valued team member among those few entrepreneurial companies destined to deliver the next generation of successful industry and technology solutions.

Rafael Fagundo

Partner Venturer Committee Member

Rafael Fagundo, Founder and CEO of Sierra7, started Sierra7 in 2009 the mission to “Serve Those Who Serve” using Sierra7’s status as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) to serve Veterans and the Warfighter. Rafael has demonstrated leadership and expertise in advancing strategic partnerships and technical capabilities development that has supported Sierra7’s growth and success in delivering quality solutions to the federal government.

Under Rafael’s leadership, Sierra7 has executed successful acquisitions, achieved organization wide CMMI Service Level III accreditation, and bid and deliver a majority of our contracts in partnership with other socioeconomic status small businesses. These partnerships enable Sierra7 to deliver diverse expertise and capabilities while supporting growth of other small businesses in the Federal Health IT and Consulting marketplace. Likewise, Rafael provides his expertise as a former member of the National Veteran Small Business (NVSB) Executive Board to advocate for and advice the NVSB community.

Recently, Rafael received the 2022 FedHealthIT100 award for his dedication and service to driving change and advancement in the industry. This is a testament to his leadership and ability to drive strategic partnerships that support continued success of small businesses delivering Health IT solutions to the federal government.

Bill Heapes

Responsible Manager

Bill Heapes acts as the Responsible Manger for Zetta Solutions with fundamental responsibilities for performance in contract execution, overseeing the jobsite, and reporting to and implementing the instructions of the Management Committee. As an emerging company with legacy roots in healthcare IT, modern software development lifecycle, consulting, and products and services we continue to provide value in serving multiple federal organizations.

Bill started his professional career developing software for the US Navy’s anti-submarine warfare fire-control and ship-navigation control systems; then shifted focus to leading the software development effort for the US Army’s premiere data mining and exploitation tool. After assuming executive management responsibilities, Bill has lead software development contracts assisting the US Army, Veterans Affairs, Military Healthcare IT, as well as commercial efforts. Prior to the formulation of Zetta, Bill was the Chief Operating Officer with a start-up in the commercial sector advancing automated business process management, cyber security, and intelligent applications development. In addition to receiving PMP, COR, ITIL and other recognized certifications Bill has been recognized as a leader in the industry receiving Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Best Practice Award, cover story for Jane’s International Defense Review, Washington’s Editor’s Choice Award, being one of 19 top management performers of over 1,200 selected for the PMP Fast-Track Pilot Program, and repeatably increasing corporate productivity while decreasing operational costs as portfolios expand and grow.

Bill Heapes believes in honest and transparent communication, providing an exciting and rewarding work environment, delivering quality products and services, supporting our Veterans and Servicemen/women, as well as kicking-back with family and friends.

Zetta supports the ideals and passions of good stewardship toward our clients and our nation’s heroes. If you’re looking for a great place to work and a great company to provide value you’ve come to the right place. Bill resides in central Virginia with his wonderful family and has a daughter and son-in-law residing in Nashville.