Page 11 - FCW, July 2020

Anil Cheriyan to leave GSA
Anil Cheriyan, deputy commissioner of the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, is leaving in July to return to the private sector.
Cheriyan, who is also director of Technology Transformation Services, joined GSA in January 2019 after serving as CIO at SunTrust Banks from 2012 to 2018. He was also chairman of the board of the Technology Business Management Council, a private- sector group that advances ideas for standardizing IT management practices.
During his tenure at GSA, he oversaw the rapid expansion of the IT Modernization Centers of Excellence program and won a Federal 100 award
90% of observed threats against civilian federal systems in May involved remote access tools,
fileless malware and cryptocurrency mining
Suzette Kent stepping down as federal CIO
U.S. CIO Suzette Kent announced in June that she would be departing government service in July.
Since she took on the role in early 2018, she has spearheaded a
wide range of technology and workforce initiatives under the Trump administration, including
the creation of the Chief Data Officer Council, updates to the Trusted Internet Connections initiative to facilitate secure connections to cloud and managed services, and a new identity management policy.
Kent came to government service after a career in the private sector that included stints as a principal at Ernst and Young and a managing partner at Accenture.
“My commitment was to give 100% to improving government technology
and citizen services,” Kent said in a statement. “It is my hope that the outcomes achieved stand in evidence to that commitment. It is with great
“In only 18 months, the Centers of Excellence grew from two to 12 agency partners.”
— Anil Cheriyan
this year for those efforts.
In an email message to staff obtained by FCW, Cheriyan said: “In only 18 months, the Centers of Excellence grew from two to 12 agency partners, FedRAMP is on the path to automation, our Presidential
our nation.”
Russ Vought, acting director of the
Office of Management and Budget, thanked Kent for “helping to drive critical modernizations through the President’s Management Agenda.”
In recognition of her accomplishments as U.S. CIO, Kent won FCW’s Govern- ment Eagle award in 2020.
Innovation Fellows doubled in size, 18F has secured ongoing work with over 23 offices in 18 agencies, and our platforms, like Login.gov, Cloud. gov, Search.gov, etc., have become the go-to enablers for innovation. In addition, in a time of crisis, we stepped up to the challenges presented, and we did it well.”
GSA Administrator Emily Murphy said: “GSA is committed to continuing the important work Anil has led, and I look forward to watching the talented TTS team bring about significant, meaningful change in federal IT for years to come.”
— Mark Rockwell
The Senate Armed Services Committee would like to repeal a pilot program that requires contractors to pay the Defense Department’s legal fees for unsuccessful bid protests with the Government Accountability Office, according to a provision in the Senate version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The 2018 NDAA authorized the pilot program, which was intended to run until Sept. 30, 2022. In addition, the Senate version of the 2021 bill mandates that DOD make the Joint Regional Security Stacks initiative a program of record or face a loss of support. It would also prohibit the department from deploying JRSS to classified networks in fiscal 2021.
Lawmakers are seeking a review to address whether JRSS should continue or be phased out “with each of the Joint Regional Security Stacks replaced through the institution of cost-effective and capable networking and cybersecurity technologies, architectures and operational concepts within five years” of the law’s enactment.
The move comes a little more than a year after a Pentagon watchdog suggested DOD pause its implementation of the program due to cybersecurity risks. In recent years, the Defense Information Systems Agency has sought to address reports of latency, among other issues with JRSS.
— Lauren C. Williams
Senate NDAA addresses bid protests and JRSS
Suzette Kent
pride in results delivered and confidence in [Deputy CIO] Maria Roat, Grant Schneider and Jordan Burris’ leadership, the OFCIO team, and the leaders in the CIO Council that I depart. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve
— Adam Mazmanian
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