Steven R. Ayers, a Kentucky native, was named District Director of the Kentucky District of the Small Business Administration (SBA) on May 10, 2004. He is responsible for delivery of SBA’s loans, technical assistance, and contract coordination programs throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Steve was selected as a charter member of the SBA Administrator’s Field Advisory Council in FY 2006/07 and subsequentaly served as the first District Director to rotate to Washington, DC, on a 90-day special assignment reporting directly to the Administrator as an Advisor. In this capacity, he played a key leadership role in the launch and implementation of a precedent setting training initiative—SBA University which provided mission critical training to more than half of SBA’s employees.
Steve has more than 20 years of highly diversified technical and administrative management experience that spans public, private, and international business sectors. Prior to joining SBA, he served more than 13 years with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Chattanooga, TN. TVA is a $9 billion federal corporation that supplies electricity to more than 8 million people through 159 electric power distributors in a seven state service territory.
Key positions held at TVA include General Manager, Corporate Contracts, in Procurement, responsible for leading a contract management team in implementing cost effective,strategically sourced, contract solutions for TVA business units; General Manager, Materials Management, with enterprise-wide responsibility for inventory management and warehousing; Senior Manager, Supplier & Distributor Relations, responsible for the small business, mentoring, suncontracting, supplier performance management, and distributor procurement partnership programs; and Senior Manager, Contract Projects, in Transmission/Power Supply responsible for effective delivery (engineering and construction) of electric system capital projects across all product lines—transmission lines, substations, and telecom.
Steve played a key leadership role as a member of TVA’s Supply Chain Reengineering Team and made a significant contribution to both creating and implementing this team’s innovative vision which saved TVA more than $270 million in five years. He also served as a consultant supporting TVA’s Business Transformation Initiative Teams and was a member of TVA’s Minority Economic Development and Corporate Contributions Committees, and Diversity Council. In addition, he led a team effort to donate over 2000 surplus computers to more than 125 needy schools throughout the Tennessee Valley.
Steve gained extensive private and international sector experience as an executive with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). SAIC, a high technology, Fortune 500 company, provides high-tech solutions to world-wide customers in the defense, energy, and environment industry sectors. As a Vice President for SAIC’s Real Time System’s Group in Huntsville, AL, Steve led a company division responsible for delivery of supervisory control data acquisition/security systems to commercial, government, and international customers. Other key positions held at SAIC include Assistant Vice President for Administration and Operations Administrator in Huntsville, AL, and Installation Project Manager for SAIC’s McLean, VA, office responsible for delivering a $365 million command/control/ communications system project to the Royal Saudi Navy through a contract with the U.S. Navy. This project included a 16 month assignment in Saudi Arabia.
Steve holds a Global Masters of Business Administration (GMBA) degree from National University, San Diego, CA, and a BA degree, Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine. He is a Vietnam veteran and served fours years in the United States Marine Corps (1968-72) achieving the rank of Platoon Sergeant. Steve and his wife Carol, reside in Louisville, KY.