Insider named GSA’s acting chief of IT procurement

The General Services Administration on Tuesday named an agency insider as acting head of its new information technology procurement organization, effective June 5.

The position to be filled by John Johnson, officially titled "assistant commissioner for integrated technology services," was vacated by Deidre Lee in March after she spent less than a year on the job. GSA is in the midst of a protracted internal reorganization, merging its two procurement organizations into the Federal Acquisition Service. A key component of the merger, combining the revolving funds of the Federal Technology Service and Federal Supply Service, still requires congressional approval.

Johnson serves as assistant commissioner for service development and delivery, overseeing development and execution of governmentwide acquisition contracts, including the upcoming Alliant solicitation for IT services and the Networx contract for telecommunications.

In an e-mail announcement, acting FAS Commissioner Marty Wagner said Johnson "will continue his high level of performance in managing the complex programs of ITS in this new role." Johnson was not available for comment, GSA said.

Neither Networx nor Alliant should suffer due to Johnson's promotion, said Phil Kiviat, a government IT market consultant. The draft Alliant request for proposals is set for release in June, and Networx is in the hands of bid evaluators. At this point, those vehicles don't "require anything near like the attention that John had been forced to put on it," Kiviat said.

Another industry source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Johnson has surrounded himself with longtime, capable associates he first encountered during his tenure as a Defense Department telecommunications official. Johnson himself is "smart, competent and obviously ambitious," the source said. His ambition will spur him to find the resources necessary to ensure GSA's high-profile efforts don't flop, the source added.

Johnson's GSA insider status might help him avoid the job aggravation that eventually propelled Lee to resign as ITS' assistant commissioner, the source said. She was "the right person for the wrong job at the wrong time," the source said. Unlike the sturdily hierarchical Pentagon, where Lee previously was a senior procurement adviser, GSA recently has been a tumultuous organization lacking coherent leadership.

"It's no secret that she became very, very frustrated by the change in executive management within GSA," the source said. Lee, now at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was not immediately available for comment, and declined requests for interviews during her final weeks at GSA.

Johnson will face an easier time, the source said, partly because GSA itself has settled down somewhat as employees await Senate confirmation of Lurita Alexis Doan as the new administrator, and also because Johnson is savvier at handling agency politics.

During Lee's time, GSA's focus was on its internal operations, said Larry Allen, executive vice president of the Washington-based Coalition for Government Procurement, a contractor trade association. "Now, the agency's focus is beginning to change more toward an outward focus." Johnson and Lee will occupy the same position, "but you really can't compare the two, because they came along at different times," Allen added.

Anyone who would take the ITS assistant commissioner position would face the challenge of handling all its many responsibilities, Allen said. His fear is that IT Schedule 70, due to come under ITS' portfolio once the reorganization is complete, could suffer from lack of attention in favor of higher-profile governmentwide acquisition vehicles. Johnson's background is on the assisted services side of GSA's business.

"Something would have to give, and I'm just concerned that with [Johnson's] background, it might be the schedules program," Allen said.

The schedules shouldn't be split apart in the first place, Allen said. "It makes sense to have one person overseeing the entire program, because then you can make sure that the integrated solution piece can occur more easily, rather than if you have a balkanized program."