DorobekInsider.com: Kempf GSA’s new FAS deputy?

I’m hearing that Steven J. Kempf, who has been heading up the acting assistant commissioner for acquisition management, was named the acting FAS deputy late last week.

Kempf had been in the acquisition management post since February. According to the release about that position in February:

Mr. Kempf joined GSA in 1992, beginning as a marketing coordinator for the Office of Technology Assistance and the Center for Federal Systems Integration and Management (FEDSIM). He then joined GSA’s regional program in California, where he was the technical chairperson for GSA’s first GWAC. Mr. Kempf also managed projects for a variety of clients in the Monterey area. In January 2000, he returned to FEDSIM, where he served as a senior project manager, operations manager, and customer services director for DoD programs. Mr. Kempf was appointed Deputy Assistant Commissioner for ITS in 2007.

Kempf was a 2008 winner of Federal Computer Week’s prestigious Fed 100 award for his work on HSPD-12. That being said, some see Kempf as tied to GSA’s troubled and yet-to-be-awarded Alliant contract.

It is unclear if Kempf will keep his acquisition management post. (Most of the senior GSA posts are “acting.” Come January, Jim Williams, GSA’s acting administrator, can go back to his former post as FAS commissioner. That means that the current acting FAS commissioner, Tyree Varnado, would become Williams’ deputy and, one assumes that Kempf would return to his acquisition management post… but I can’t follow that many dominoes.)

DorobekInsider: Federal News Radio exclusive with GSA’s Tyree Varnado

GSA's Varnado

Last week, we gave the Coalition for Government Procurement credit for something of a coup, scoring a speaking appearance by GSA’s new acting Federal Acquisition Service Commissioner Tyree Varnado.

But where will you hear him first? On Federal News Radio’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris on Thursday afternoon — we’re on from 3-7p ET, exclusively on Federal News Radio’s Daily Debrief.

Morris and I are interviewing Varnado earlier in the day in studio — and we’ll probably go longer then our typical interview, keeping Varnado across two segments.

Among the questions I hope we can get to:

• What is on his agenda for FAS?
• What are the most significant issues facing FAS.
• What is that status on the Federal Acquisition Service merger?
• The GSA schedule contracts have been under increasing pressures. Are they still a viable contracting vehicle?
• The Multiple-Award Schedule Panel is recommending that GSA do away with the schedule’s price reduction clause. Thoughts?
• What should be the proper role of oversight?
• What is his sense of the role of assisted services?

What other questions should we ask? Post them here… and we’ll get to as many as we can.

I’ve also been told that Varnado will make an unannounced appearance at Input’s FedFocus 2009 conference on Oct. 21 in Falls Church, VA.

I’m looking forward to meeting Varnado.

DorobekInsider.com: Positive reviews for the new FAS commissioner

GSA's Tyree Varnado

We broke the news yesterday that GSA will announce — possibly as soon as today — that Tyree Varnado will be the acting FAS Commissioner effective September 21. In fact, it looks like GSA may have put the announcement out overnight.

The appointment is the latest in a series of moves within GSA to fill vacancies. The FAS Commissioner post is vacant, of course, because Jim Williams was named GSA’s acting administrator. Initially, Wiliams had named Barney Brasseux as acting FAS Commissioner, who was his deputy. Earier this week, however, Brasseux was named the deputy GSA administrator. So that left the FAS commissioner’s office vacant again. (Are you following all of this? We need a chart or something.) So Williams this week, Williams namedVarnado to be FAS commissioner.

I’ll tell you — Varnado has a big fan club.

Among the comments I’ve received already…

From a FAS insider:

Tyree is a good man and it does indeed help to unify the entire GSA team by selecting someone outside of DC to serve in this capacity.

From a GSAer…

Right decision, really solid fellow.

And one GSA observer:

Tyree is an excellent choice.

The over all consensus is that selecting someone from GSA’s regions is a good decision. GSA’s regions can often be problematic, particularly given that each region has regional administrators that who are political appointees and it can sometimes be difficult to get the agency pointed in the same direction.

But a number of people described Varnado as a good leader.

The Federal Acquisition Service, of course, was formed earlier this year by merging the Federal Supply Service and the Federal Technology Service. That merger still needs careful management if it is going to be successful, many observers believe.

We’re working on getting somebody who can talk about all of these issues for this afternoon’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris on Federal News Radio 1500 AM.