PEO Provides Update to Industry at AFCEA Belvoir Virtual Luncheon

Just days after his one-year anniversary at the helm of PEO EIS, Program Executive Officer Ross Guckert provided an organizational update May 26 to more than 200 attendees of AFCEA Belvoir’s May 2021 virtual luncheon.

Guckert kicked off his remarks with a review of upcoming leadership changes and recent program milestones at the PEO. One of the headquarters-level successes he touted was the implementation of the Enhanced Command Preparation Program. Established with the backing of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, the program is designed to help incoming project managers get up to speed on their portfolios two to three years in advance of joining PEO EIS.

With regard to industry relations, Guckert said EIS welcomes industry’s ideas on how to establish fair and balanced arrangements with an acceptable amount of risk on both sides, and where innovation is allowed to thrive. While industry needs to make sure its solutions are innovative, best value and integrated with the Army’s overall architecture, the government has to do its part by improving selection criteria and making sure that requirements are set up front, according to Guckert.

“We have some work to do in understanding how to best convey to industry via solicitation what’s important to us and how to get innovation,” he said. “We have to manage and measure to baseline, but give industry the latitude to provide best of breed.”

Guckert closed out his presentation with an overview of the top five procurement opportunities from PEO EIS’s newly updated procurement forecast.

During the question and answer session, one of the burning questions Guckert answered was about the impact of potential budget cuts on PEO EIS programs. While acknowledging that he doesn’t yet know the impact, he said the government needs to “get creative” with its programs.

“We need to try doing things more efficiently and take some risks,” he concluded.

View the full briefing deck for the PEO’s AFCEA Belvoir presentation.