Candid Conversations with Acquisition Leaders

What does it take to be a leader, an executive in the Federal acquisition workforce?  What is the career path and what are the traits conducive to reaching these ranks?
 
These are a few of the questions asked by a group of Federal employees participating in The Partnership for Public Service’s Leadership Excellence in Acquisition Program (LEAP). Members of The Partnership for Public Service’s LEAP chose top-notch executives in the Federal acquisition workforce and asked them a series of questions to gather their thoughts on the acquisition workforce, and how they advance through the ranks.
 
Executives answering the call to this endeavor are:

• Laura Auletta, Executive Director for Procurement And Acquisition Workforce, Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, Department of Homeland Security
• Cordell DeLaPena, Director of Program Integration, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Department of the Air Force
• David Gragan, Senior Procurement Executive, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
• Virginia Huth, Director, Office of General Services Acquisition Policy, Integrity, and Workforce, General Services Administration
• Craig Robinson, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Health Care Acquisitions, Department of Veterans Affairs
• Melissa Starinsky, Director, Federal Acquisition Institute
• Joy White, Executive Director, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Department of the Air Force

 
Check out the video now to hear the sage wisdom of those “who’ve been there.”