The 2006 Virginia 100 - Cashing out
After selling IT government contracting company, Roger Mody takes early retirement

by Jessica Sabbath
Virginia Business
June 2006

It’s been more than three years since Roger Mody sold Fairfax-based Signal Corp., a three-person company he transformed into a 60-office, 1,600-employee government contractor with revenue of nearly $300 million a year.

Mody, 42, isn’t bored with early retirement. From juggling philanthropic pursuits to advising startup companies, perfecting his golf game and raising his fourth child — an 8-month-old with his second wife, Kyle — Mody says the post-CEO life is good. "Things are far more dynamic now on a day-to-day basis. I can start in one direction and easily digress in another direction, and I enjoy that."

In 2002 he sold for $227 million the technology services company he had co-founded with his first wife, Lori. Mody’s share was a reported $125 million. These days he can afford to travel, drive exotic European cars and build a 30,000-square-foot riverfront home in McLean, which will be twice the size of his current home, a 14,000-square-foot Greek Revival mansion.

Freed from the demands of a fast-growing company, Mody has more time for philanthropy. Through The Mody Foundation, he supports charities such as the American Heart Association, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Youth of Tomorrow Home, a facility for at-risk teenagers founded by Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs. Last year the foundation donated $250,000 to charities. In November, Mody chaired the 2005 Sneaker Ball, where sports celebrities and Washington socialites donned tuxedos and sneakers in support of youth programs of the Greater Washington Sports Alliance. The ball raised more than $1.1 million.

The primary goal of Mody’s foundation is helping underprivileged minorities pay for higher education. That purpose resonates deeply with Mody. Raised by Indian parents in Northern Virginia, Mody knows firsthand what life is like on the low end of the income scale. "I saw the dark side, and it makes me appreciate the other side," he says. Mody’s father died when he was 12, leaving his mother with a $23,000 hospital bill. To get by, his mother worked three jobs. Mody fudged a work permit so he could help out, delivering The Washington Post before school and washing dishes at a local Pizza Hut at night.

College tuition seemed out of reach. So Mody applied for scholarships and attended classes at Northern Virginia Community College. While he enrolled at several colleges, he never received a bachelor’s degree. "I was more driven by a desire to earn an income," says Mody. At 23, he and his first wife started Signal Corp. as a commercial publishing company. But as Northern Virginia emerged as a center for technology, the small firm quickly evolved into a technology services company, winning more than 40 industry awards and major federal government contracts. One contract involved providing tech support to the U.S. Senate and another concerned updating computer networks for federal agencies.

After establishing a solid reputation for Signal, Mody sold the company to publicly traded Veridian Corp., which was later acquired by General Dynamics. But the former CEO didn’t leave the business world entirely. Mody sits on the advisory boards of several midsize federal contractors. He also serves as an "angel investor," providing funding and investment advice to small startups.

He was the first person that Bijal Mehta, the CEO of Fairfax-based Arctern — an offshore outsourcing services firm — invited to serve on his advisory board. Mehta says Mody’s advice has boosted the company’s credibility, assisted it in targeting growth opportunities and helped it recruit senior managers. "He was absolutely the top of line in the technology services business," says Mehta. "We can tap into a lot of his experience in building management teams and his incredible business success. It’s important for me to bounce my ideas around in a trusted forum."

Mody says handling his personal investments and serving on advisory boards keep him energized. Overall, he says, the retirement lane offers a broad brush stroke to life. "It’s such different topics from day to day," says Mody. "I’m getting my intellectual stimulation, and at the same time I’m learning."