Jack Martin

Education
Jack Martin
Chief Financial Officer,
Chief Acquisition Officer

When explaining why all parts of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act should not be applied to federal agencies, Jack Martin is quick to point out one obvious difference between them and the private sector. "Our performance is not rewarded like the performance of [private sector] executives," he says, chuckling.

As a Wayne State University business school graduate with experience at General Motors Corp. and what is now Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Martin knows the private sector-and it appears he is happy to be where he is. "We're stewards of tax dollars. We need to give assurances to the public that we are safeguarding and honoring their trust to spend the tax dollars appropriately," he says.

Since taking over as chief financial officer in 2002, the former Marine has instituted more training for senior managers, including senior secretaries. He says if managers are well-informed about financial management, then they will make better decisions when establishing internal controls and preparing financial statements.

In fact, he would rather have his own staff of federal employees to do the agency's financial management work than contract it out. At a House Government Reform subcommittee hearing in February, he said after comparing résumés of in-house employees to those of contractors, he preferred the in-house workers. He wanted to wean the department from using outside contractors, he said, "so we're not dependent on those people."

In addition to his chief financial duties, Martin also serves as Education's chief acquisition officer, which means he oversees purchasing strategy. His deputy, Glenn Perry, director of contracts and acquisitions management, says Martin successfully manages both duties. "We're fortunate," he says, "we have someone who understands acquisition."