What is the mission of the DoD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office? What is the Tradewinds Marketplace? How do Tradewinds acquisitions differ from traditional acquisitions? What does the future for the Tradewinds Marketplace at DOD? Join host Michael J Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Bonnie Evangelista, acting deputy chief digital and artificial intelligence officer for acquisition withing DoD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office.
John Whitley on Reforming DoD’s Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Process
January 3, 2023
How does the U.S. Department of Defense allocate and manage its resources? What is its Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process? How can the PPBE Reform Commission address weaknesses in this system? What pitfalls should it avoid? Host Michael Keegan explres these questions and more with John Whitley former acting secretary of the U.S. Army & author of the IBM Center report, Three Reforms to Improve Defense Resource Management.
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.
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.
Lt. General Ronald Place, M.D., Director, Defense Health Agency
December 14, 2020
What are the Defense Health Agency’s strategies priorities? What is the Defense Health Agency doing to change the way DoD delivers healthcare? How is DHA responding to the COV-19 pandemic? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions with Lt. General Ronald Place, Director, Defense Health Agency.
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.
How do you delivery healthcare anywhere at anytime? What are the strategic priorities for the military health system? How has MHS sought to address some of the critical challenges it faces? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Dr. Karen Guice, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs within the U.S. Department of Defense.
A Conversation with Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Douglas J. Robb
November 3, 2014
How is the Defense Health Agency changing the way DoD delivers healthcare? What are some of the key challenges faced in restructuring such a complex system? How is DHA transforming its health information technology portfolio? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with LTG Douglas Robb, Director, Defense Health Agency.
A Conversation with Mark Krzysko
September 9, 2013
Mr. Mark E. Krzysko serves as the Deputy Director, Enterprise Information. In this senior leadership position, Mr. Krzysko directs data governance, technical transformation and shared services efforts to make timely, authoritative acquisition information available to support oversight of the Department of Defense’s major programs; a portfolio totaling more than $1.6 trillion of investment funds over the lifecycle of the programs.
Preceding his current position, Mr. Krzysko served as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (ADUSD) for Business Transformation, providing strategic guidance for re-engineering the Department’s business system investment decision-making processes. He also served as ADUSD for Strategic Sourcing and Acquisition Processes and as Director of the Supply Chain Systems Transformation Directorate, championing innovative uses of information technologies to improve and streamline the supply chain process for the Department. As the focal point for supply chain systems, Mr. Krzysko was responsible for transformation, implementation and oversight of enterprise capabilities for the acquisition, logistics and procurement communities. In addition, Mr. Krzysko served as advisor to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation on supply chain matters and as the functional process proponent to the Department’s Business Transformation efforts, resulting in the establishment of the Business Transformation Agency.
In March of 2002, Mr. Krzysko joined the Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy office as Deputy Director of e-Business. As the focal point for the Acquisition Domain, he was responsible for oversight and transformation of the acquisition community into a strategic business enterprise. This included driving the adoption of e-business practices across the Department, leading the move to modernize processes and systems, and managing the investment review process and portfolio of business systems. Mr. Krzysko served as the Division Director of Electronic Commerce Solutions for the Naval Air Systems Command from June 2000 to March 2002. From April 1991 until March 2000, Mr. Krzysko served in various senior-level acquisition positions at the Naval Air Systems Command, including Contracting Officer of F/A-18 Foreign Military Sales, F/A-18 Developmental Programs, and the F-14. In addition, he served as Program Manager of Partnering, the Acquisition Business Process Re-engineering Effort, and as Acquisition Program Manager for the Program Executive Office for Tactical Aircraft.
Mr. Krzysko began his career in the private sector in various executive and managerial positions including Assistant Managing Director for Lord & Taylor Department Stores and Operations Administrator for Woodward & Lothrop Department Stores. Mr. Krzysko holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Maryland, University College, College Park, Maryland, and a Master of General Administration, Financial Management from the same institution.
In the case of Robert Gates, the report focuses on his efforts to transform weapons procurement at DOD. Upon returning to government in 2006 as secretary of defense, Gates concluded that he had an opportunity to rein in the cost of defense weapons procurements and halt the production of unneeded weapons.
In the case of Francis Collins, the report focuses on his efforts to transform NIH by creating a new institute, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, which Collins believed would serve as a catalyst to change the culture of NIH. Collins sought to enhance NIH’s capability to translate its knowledge in addressing what the public needs from drugs and treatment.
Professor Lambright found many similarities in the challenges faced by Gates and Collins, as well as their effective responses to these challenges. Lambright concludes that experience and leadership skills really do matter, and that both leaders set clear goals and offered clarity as to means. The report also describes how both overcame opposition to their transformation initiatives.
As noted above, this report builds upon prior research by the IBM Center for The Business of Government on the crucial topics of leadership and transformation. In 2011, the IBM Center published A Leader’s Guide to Transformation: Developing a Playbook for Successful Change Initiatives by Robert A. F. Reisner.
Forging Governmental Change is the sixth report prepared by Professor Lambright for the IBM Center. In 2002, Professor Lambright chronicled the experience of Francis Collins, then director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, in his report Managing “Big Science:” A Case Study of the Human Genome Project. Lambright’s research for the IBM Center also includes leadership case studies of three recent administrators of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Dan Goldin (2001), Sean O’Keefe (2005), and Michael Griffin (2009).
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 Dave Wennergren
July 2, 2011
Mr. David M. Wennergren serves as the Assistant Deputy Chief Management Officer at the U.S. Department of Defense. Prior to his current role, Mr. Wennergren was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Information Management, Integration and Technology / Deputy Chief Information Officer, providing top-level advocacy in creating a unified information management and technology vision for the Department and ensuring the delivery of the capabilities required to achieve the Department’s transformation to net centric operations. In addition to his duties as Deputy CIO, Mr. Wennergren was the Vice Chair of the U.S. Government’s Federal CIO Council. He also served as the Chair of the Department of Defense Identity Protection and Management Senior Coordinating Group.
Learn more about Mr. Wennergren and listen to his entire interview.
Dr. Robert Childs, Senior Director at Information Resource Management (IRM) College
January 13, 2010
Dr. Robert Childs tells us about
Net Centricity and its applicability to high education in the DoD.
Rear Adm. Thomas McGinnis, Chief Pharmacy Officer of Pharmaceutical Operations Directorate at the TRICARE Management Activity, talks about the future of DOD pharmacy benefits at TRICARE
Rear Adm. Thomas McGinnis, Chief Pharmacy Officer of Pharmaceutical Operations Directorate at the TRICARE Management Activity, discusses about how TRICARE delivers its drug benefits to their beneficiaries
Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, Director for Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) U.S. Navy, discusses the type of challenges DLA faces in supporting IT infrastructure
Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, Director for Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) U.S. Navy, discusses his career, role & responsibilities at DLA
January 8, 2010
Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, Director for Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) U.S. Navy, discusses his career, role & responsibilities at DLA
Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, Director for Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) U.S. Navy, discusses how DLA is supporting military operations the war zones
Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, Director for Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) U.S. Navy, discusses DLA’s strategic priorities and vision
January 8, 2010
Vice Admiral Alan S. Thompson, Director for Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) U.S. Navy, discusses DLA’s strategic priorities and vision
Rear Adm. Thomas McGinnis, Chief Pharmacy Officer of Pharmaceutical Operations Directorate at the TRICARE Management Activity, discusses how pharmacy data can enhance patient outcomes and tackle key issues at TRICARE
Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, Deputy Director, Tricare Management Activity, Department of Defense
December 8, 2009
Rear Adm. Hunter discusses the Tricare program for the military health system.
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
Rear Adm. Christine Hunter, Deputy Director, Tricare Management Activity, Department of Defense
December 8, 2009
Rear Adm. Hunter discusses the shift toward preventive care and the patient center medical home model.
Rear Admiral Christine Hunter, Deputy Director, Tricare Management Activity, Department of Defense
December 8, 2009
Rear Admiral Christine Hunter tells us about the efforts and initiatives pursued to facilitate service members from deployment to employment.
The Business of Government Hour 