Have you ever wondered what BGI “actually” stands for? Well, the short answer is… nothing. But the longer answer is an interesting story, one that goes back more than 30 years, with a little family history dating all the way back to France in the 1600s.
Back in the early 1990s, I had become involved in the development of high-fidelity F-16 simulators. General Merrill McPeak, then Chief of Staff of the Air Force, had a vision that every operational fighter unit should have the ability to conduct realistic, high-quality simulator training right at their home station. It was an exciting initiative, and I was fortunate to be involved in helping bring that vision to life. As the work progressed, it became clear that we needed to establish a formal business entity. Now, I knew a fair amount about flying F-16s and training fighter pilots, but starting and running a company was another matter entirely. Fortunately, a gentleman named Jack Brennan, who was involved in the defense industry, gave me some advice I’ll never forget. He told me that if I wanted the large prime contractors to take us seriously, we needed to be incorporated. Sounded reasonable enough. So, I did what any fighter pilot who didn’t know how to start a corporation might do. I called my mom.
My mom had a PhD in business and knew considerably more about these things than I did. Shortly thereafter, she had established a Delaware corporation for me. She even came up with the name.Best Group Incorporated. There was some real thought behind her choice. The word Best was derived from our family name, tracing its roots back to France in the 1600s. And she chose the word Group because, in 1993, she believed it communicated something important, a cohesive team of people working together with a common purpose and shared objectives.
And just like that, Best Group Incorporated was born.
Fast-forward several years, we decided to restructure the company from a corporation into a limited liability company. During that process, we encountered a naming issue in Delaware that prevented us from retaining Best Group as our legal name. We started thinking about what to call ourselves. We realized something pretty obvious. Hardly anyone was calling us Best Group Incorporated anyway. Our customers, partners, and employees were simply calling us BGI. So why not just call us BGI? And that’s exactly what we did.
Technically speaking, today those three letters don’t officially stand for anything. But I would argue that they represent an awful lot. They represent some sound advice from someone who understood the industry. They represent a mother helping her son turn an opportunity into a business. They represent a connection to our family’s history. And they remind us that words matter, relationships matter, and ultimately, our reputation is built not on what we call ourselves, but on what we do.
Today, when I think about BGI, I don’t think about those original three words.I think about our people, our customers, and the mission we’re privileged to support.
I think about our five core values. Leadership, Integrity, Commitment, Excellence, and Teamwork and the importance of putting those values into action every day.
I think about our commitment to the warfighter and the responsibility we have to deliver excellence in everything we do. And I think about our core purpose: Helping Facilitate Full Potential. The potential of our employees, our customers, and the organizations and missions we serve. That’s what BGI has come to represent.
More than three decades ago, my mom gave us a name rooted in family history and the idea of people working together. I doubt either of us could have imagined what that little company would become. My mom gave us a name. Our people gave it meaning. And that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.
The next time someone asks you what BGI stands for, you can give them the short answer: Nothing.
But what BGI stands for? Well, that’s an entirely different story, and it’s a story we’re all still writing together.
Thanks for everything you do to make BGI what it is today. You all truly define the Best Group of People that I can imagine.
Keep BUILDING!
Mukes