IT consultant tapped for top GSA post
Lurita Alexis Doan (pictured), the founder of the federal IT consulting firm New Technologies Management, is the administration's pick for administrator of the General Services Administration. The agency has been under the temporary leadership of David Bibb.
New Technology held contracts with federal agencies valued at $212 million in 2003. The site lists the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and departments of Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development as clients.
The Washington Post's Stephen Barr quotes Bobbie Kilberg , president of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, calling Doan "an extraordinarily good manager." Kilberg said: "She is a leader and she knows a lot about technology. GSA is clearly losing its edge . . . and needs innovation. She is a creative thinker."
She is of course a loyal Republican donor.
Data on the Political Money Line Web site show that Doan has been a steady contributor to Republicans in the 2000 to 2006 election cycles. In 2004, for example, Doan contributed $25,000 to the Republican National Committee and $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney campaign, according to the Web site.
Doan's understanding of IT may help her more with her challenging task than any experience with contracting or federal rules and laws. Federal Computer Week reports:
Warren Suss, president of Suss Consulting, said Doan’s background as a technology leader is better suited to GSA’s needs than a lawyer’s or contracts specialist’s would be. Even with that advantage, however, resurrecting the flagging agency is going to be difficult.Suss said Doan must stabilize the agency because it is at risk of losing much of its talent. GSA needs to win back customer confidence, he said. “Someone who has broad-based links into the agency customer set would be the ideal candidate.”
She was not a shining star in federal contracting circles, however.
Despite her business success, Doan is not well-known in the government IT community. Many acquisition experts said they had not heard of her before her name was announced. They based their assessment of her suitability for the job on older articles uncovered in Internet searches.