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WTInsider
Saying goodbye to
‘visionary’ Bob Welch
The former ASI Government partner was a change agent on the agency and industry sides of federal acquisition
BY NICK WAKEMAN
Bob Welch, a partner at ASI Govern- ment and a former government execu- tive, died on March 31.
Welch already had a distinguished federal career when he retired from the government and joined what was then known as Acquisition Solutions Inc.
At the time, ASI had five employees, and over the next decade and a half, he helped grow the company to 200 peo- ple. Along the way, ASI won accolades from Washington Technology as a Fast 50 company and from FCW as one of 10 hot companies to watch.
“Bob’s boldness and creativ- ity brought him to join ASI’s fearless founders all those years ago,” said Timothy Cooke, ASI’s president and CEO. “Together, they helped shape a generation of acquisition visionaries, and their legacy is our future. Bob will be missed terribly.”
Before leaving government, Welch served as senior procurement execu- tive at the departments of Commerce and Treasury. He was also chief of the procurement policy division at the Agri- culture Department and a contracting officer in the Navy.
He earned a reputation for finding innovative ways to conduct acquisitions and was known as a change agent. He
developed and launched the Commerce Information Technology Solutions pro- gram known as COMMITS, one of the first governmentwide solutions con- tracts for small businesses.
He also led the first application of the Balanced Scorecard for federal pro- curement and introduced the concept of using a credit card for federal buying.
“Bob was a wonderful friend and one of the most beloved members of the federal acquisition community,” said Ann Costello, ASI’s co-founder and former chairman. “He truly was a joy to be around and learn from. He was a consummate professional and a cheerleader for procurement talent who helped many careers. When you see procurement professionals chal- lenging tradition to craft better ways to bring capability to their agencies, it’s a good bet they are channeling a bit of Bob.”
ASI co-founder Chip Mather called Welch a visionary leader and innovator who was a “remarkable businessman and business matchmaker of the best kind. He loved to introduce people who he felt should, as he said, know each other over a baloney sandwich.”
“It seemed that almost all civilian agency acquisition managers and execu-
tives had him to thank for their last job or their next job,” Mather said. “That is one indicator of the scores of friends he made and kept over the years, and the esteem and trust he quietly commanded.”
Welch served on the National Con- tract Management Association’s Board of Advisors and on the Procurement Round Table, a volunteer organization of former senior federal acquisition offi- cials. He was a certified professional contracts manager and founded the Procurement Executives Association for senior procurement leaders.
Among his honors were a Hammer Award from Vice President Al Gore for reinventing procurement at the Trea- sury Department, the Presidential Rank Award, the Secretary of the Treasury’s Distinguished Service Award, the Com- merce Department’s Gold and Silver Medals, and a Federal 100 award.
“Bob was an innovator who loved to push acquisition and procurement pro- fessionals to find new and better ways to buy and to achieve greater mission value from contracts,” said Anne Reed, ASI’s former president and CEO and now chairman of the company’s board. “Bob was a tremendous person, and our hearts ache today.” n
WashingtonTechnology, a sister publication to FCW, covers all the ins and outs of the IT contracting community. Learn more at WashingtonTechnology.com.
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