How does technology form the connective tissue that ties the missions of the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) together? How is the IM&T directorate maximizing the use of technology to support OSD? What does the future hold for OSD’s IT Enterprise? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Danielle Metz, Director, Information Management & Technology Director and CIO, Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Deploying the Data Fabric for Multi-Domain Command and Control/JADC2: SPECIAL SPADE 2023 Edition of The Business of Government Hour. How can the Data Fabric help realize the vision of Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)? What are the key technological developments supporting multi-domain operations? How are the U.S., Canada, and allied countries collaborating to deliver on the vision of joint all domain command and control? Join host Michael Keegan as he welcomes Len Bastien, CIO, Canada’s Department of National Defence and Terry Halvorsen, former CIO, U.S. Department of Defense and IBM executive.
Transforming the Defense Health Agency: A Conversation with Lt General Ronald Place, M.D., Director, Defense Health Agency
December 27, 2022
What are the strategic priorities for the Defense Health Agency (DHA)? How is DHA working to create a more fully integrated military healthcare system? What are some of key successes and accomplishments for DHA over the last three and half years? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Lieutenant General Ronald Place, M.D., Director, Defense Health Agency on The Business of Government Hour.
Delivering Mission-Critical Digital Initiatives: A Conversation with Lily Zeleke, Acting Deputy CIO, Information Enterprise (IE), U.S. Department of Defense
December 12, 2022
Ms. Lily Zeleke is the acting Deputy CIO (DCIO) for the Information Enterprise (IE). In this role, she provides oversight, policy guidance, and digital expertise for DoD enterprise infrastructure initiatives driving toward the objectives of digital modernization. She leads Department-wide execution of strategic guidance aimed at achieving an operationally effective and secure Information Enterprise in a cost-efficient manner. Areas of priority include network optimization, cloud adoption, software modernization, and IT reform. She recently served as the Principal Director (PD) for the DCIO IE. Prior to these roles, Ms. Zeleke served as the Acting PD for the DCIO for Resources & Analysis (DCIO RA) as well as the Director of Resources, Program, and Budget. She was responsible for the management of DoD CIO’s processes for Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution to include management of DoD CIO’s operating budget; the collection and submission of the DoD IT/Cyberspace Activities Budget to the Office of Management and Budget and Congress; execution of the DoD Budget Certification process; and DoD CIO’s participation in the Department’s Program Budget Review.
From 2009 to 2018, Ms. Zeleke served as the Department’s radiofrequency spectrum policy lead for all matters related to spectrum use, reallocation, and auction. In this capacity, she led the strategic development of the Department’s mobile broadband and domestic regulatory, policy, and legislative initiatives for the DCIO for Command, Control, and Communications (DCIO C3). She functioned as the liaison between DoD and spectrum stakeholders across the Department, national spectrum regulators, White House/Executive Branch agencies, and Congress, and spearheaded a wide range of complex initiatives to evolve traditional spectrum policies and practices to be more responsive to increased demand. She partnered with these stakeholders to forge an innovative solution that resulted in an amicable commercial auction decision of the highly sought 1755-1780 MHz band, expanding commercial Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3) while preserving military capabilities. The auction brought in $44 billion to the U.S. Treasury and $3.1 billion for DoD. She led a coalition that developed a first-of-its-kind DoD spectrum efficiency principles policy memo, which became the cornerstone of the DoD 2020 Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy.
Prior to joining DoD CIO, Ms. Zeleke served as the Deputy Technical Director and International Division Chief at the Air Force Frequency Management Agency where she advised on all matters concerning international telecommunications policy for spectrum use, and led Air Force participation in the International Telecommunications Union World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), a global summit that reviews the international treaty governing the use of radiofrequency spectrum. Previously, she served as advisor to the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Defense Spectrum Organization on international spectrum regulatory policy, as well as a RF product support engineer at Allied Signal Inc.
Ms. Zeleke holds a M.S. in Systems Engineering from George Mason University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kansas. She is a Senior Executive Fellow of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and has been recognized on numerous occasions for her work including a National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation for her significant contribution to the success of the AWS-3 auction.
Connecting and Protecting the Warfighter in Cyberspace: Lt. General Robert Skinner, Director, DISA
September 12, 2022
Conversation with Lt General Robert Skinner, Director, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). What are the strategic priorities of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)? How is it strengthening the security and resilience of networks and systems? What is it doing to prioritize command and control and leverage data as a Strategic Asset? Michael Keegan explores these questions and more with Lt. General Robert Skinner, Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
Delivering hosting and compute services to warfighters: A Conversation with Sharon Woods, director, DISA’s Hosting and Compute Center
August 8, 2022
What is the mission of the Defense Information Systems Agency DISA’s Hosting and Compute Center? How is the HaCC transforming the way DISA does business? What does the future hold for DISA’s Hosting and Compute Center? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Sharon Woods, Director, Hosting and Compute Center at the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA).
How does the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) execute on its critical mission? What is it doing to attract innovative businesses and startups to help solve high-impact national security issues? What emerging technologies offer the most promise to securing the nation? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Michael Brown, Director, Defense Innovation Units (DIU), U.S. Department of Defense.
Caroline Kuharske, Acting Chief Data Officer at the Defense Information Systems Agency
February 28, 2022
What is the data strategy for the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)? How is DISA leveraging data as a strategic asset? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Caroline Kuharske, Acting Chief Data Officer, DISA.
What is mission of the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)?How has the pandemic impacted its operations?How is the Defense Commissary Agency changing the way it does business? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Bill Moore, Director & Chief Executive Officer, Defense Commissary Agency.
What is the mission of the Homeland Security & Defense Business Council? How does it work to building better engagement between industry and government? What are some of the critical issues facing the homeland security enterprise? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Rafael Borras, President & CEO, Homeland Security & Defense Business Council.
What it is like to run the largest enterprise in the world, the U.S. Department of Defense? What are some of the challenges facing a Secretary of Defense? What leadership lessons can be learned from Ash Carter? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions with Ash Carter, former Secretary of Defense and author of Inside the five-sided box: lessons from a lifetime of leadership in the Pentagon.
What are the implications of the robotics and autonomous systems for military operations? How else is the Royal Netherlands Army (NL Army) using innovative technology? I explored these questions with: Major General C.J. Matthijssen, Deputy Commander, NL Army and Lieutenant Colonel Martijn Hädicke, Commander Robotic Autonomous Systems Project, 13rd Infantry Division, NL Army. What are the benefits of 5G? What are the implications of 5G? How will 5G impact secure mobile communication? I explored these questions with: former U.S. Department of Defense Chief Information Officer Terry Halvorsen.
Conversations with Peter K. Levine, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Defense Analyses on Auditing, Department of Defense
February 4, 2019
Why does U.S. Department of Defense lack of an auditable financial statement? What has DoD done to get to auditability? What challenges are faced in getting audited financial statement and how can DoD do better? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Peter K. Levine of the Institute for Defense Analyses.
Peter K. Levine, Institute for Defense Analyses
November 5, 2018
Why does U.S. Department of Defense lack of an auditable financial statement? What has DoD done to get to auditability? What challenges are faced in getting audited financial statement and how can DoD do better? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Peter K. Levine of the Institute for Defense Analyses.
Conversations with Authors: John Whitley on Five Actions to Improve Military Hospital Performance
January 8, 2018
What challenges does the US Department of Defense’s direct care system face? How can these challenges be overcome? What are five actions to improve military hospital performance? Join host Michael Keegan next week on a Special Edition of The Business of Government Hour as he explores these questions and more with John Whitley, author of the IBM Center report, Five Actions to Improve Military Hospital Performance.
What are the strategic priorities for the Defense Health Agency’s Component Acquisition Executive? How is DHA Changing the Way it Acquires Products and Services? Join host Michael Keegan, next week on The Business of Government Hour as he explores these questions with Dr. Barclay P. Butler, Component Acquisition Executive at the Defense Health Agency.
The Business of Government Magazine Fall-Winter 2011 – A Special Edition of The Business of Government Hour
January 9, 2012
In this issue of The Business of Government magazine, we survey the intersection where leadership, complex challenges, and the need for transformation meet. Whether it’s in the response to the global financial crisis, the national deficit, or the myriad of other pressing issues facing us, uncertainty seems boundless while constraints on resources are very real. It is within this context that we’ve assembled a varied group of government executives and thought leaders who are focusing on these problems and working to mitigate their effects. They offer their insights, lessons learned, and recommendations on these topics. It’s about connecting research to practice—crafting smart approaches that tame immediate demands without losing sight of the iterative nature of problem solving. This goes to the core of the Center’s mission: linking theory to practice as a way of shaping the business of government.
A Conversation with General Anthony Zinni
September 3, 2011
Military power is typically the bedrock of a nation’s power. In this complex and dynamic world of changing demands, the nature of security today requires that it be conceive more broadly than at any time before. Some have called for a new and vibrant strategic direction for U.S. national security and foreign policy. Today’s context presents a unique set of challenges and requires a new way of thinking about American power and security. For the United States to be an effective world leader, how must it strategically balance all three aspects of its power – defense, diplomacy, and development? What are the strategic threats facing the U.S. today? How can the use of smart power address some of these complex and perplexing global problems? We will explore these questions and so much more with our very special guest.
Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, Deputy Director, Tricare Management Activity, Department of Defense
December 8, 2009
Rear Adm. Hunter tells us about the different benefit packages available under Tricare
The Business of Government Hour 