Defence's tech big spenders lock in CEO

The man in charge of the organisation undertaking one of the largest IT projects in Australia has had his contract extended by the Department of Defence.

The Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) revealed that the project management and procurement arm of the Department of Defence (DOD) has extended the contract of CEO Dr Stephen Gumley, with the agency currently undertaking a major overhaul of DOD's asset management and logistics systems, which the DMO has described as "one of the largest information technology projects currently under development in Australia".

Defence Materiel Organisation CEO, Dr Stephen Gumley

Credit: Department of Defence

The initiative, operating under the title of Joint Project 2077, is charged with implementing the military integrated logistics information system (MILIS), which is an extensive new logistics system aimed at replacing the troublesome standard defence supply system (SDSS).

"This is an enormously complex and expensive project," said Gartner analyst Richard Harris of the system revamp. "I think it's coming to the stage now where Defence is starting to make some very important decisions about what this system is eventually going to look like".

Gumley was appointed as the organisation's inaugural CEO in 2004 under a five-year, fixed term contract due to expire next year, however, the department has now adjusted his employment status to that of a permanent Australian public service employee, foreshadowing an ongoing role as head of the agency.