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Recorded on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 9:00am-11:15am EST Virtual, ON24
The U.S. Army is undergoing a transformational era of modernization. The service branch is investing in innovative new digital technologies, prioritizing workforce development, updating its platforms and weapons for the modern era and adapting to complex geopolitical developments as they continue to evolve.
The Army’s new Digital Transformation Strategy guides the service towards data centricity and technological superiority through initiatives like Project Convergence – the Army’s response to the Defense Department’s JADC2. However, while the Army targets innovation through bold, new programs and weapons systems, it must also balance continuous improvements for its existing and legacy programs in order to build a bridge from the Army of today to the Army of the future.
Join GovCon Wire Events for the Second Annual Army IT and Digital Transformation Forum to hear from government, military and industry leaders on how the Army is leveraging a 21st-century approach to build up a ready, lethal and modern force that can fight and win the battles of tomorrow
Dr. Raj G. Iyer was selected for the Senior Executive Service in November 2020 and assumed the position as Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Information Technology Reform in the Office of the Secretary of the Army. As CIO, Dr. Iyer serves as the principal advisor to and directs all matters representing the Secretary of the Army relating to Information Management/ Information Technology (IM/IT). He sets the strategic direction and oversees the execution of policies and programs for IM/IT including managing an integrated IT architecture, enterprise data management, cybersecurity, and cloud management. He oversees the capital planning and execution of $18 billion portfolio for implementation of an enterprise IM/IT programs that deliver a responsive, effective, secure, collaborative and trusted environment of communication, information and technological superiority for the Army and its joint and allied nation partners. Dr. Iyer previously served as the Managing Director for Government and Public Services and Senior Manager, Technology Strategy, Defense, and National Security for Deloitte Consulting LLP, Arlington, Virginia. Prior to his role at Deloitte, Dr. Iyer served as the Senior Technology Advisor for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland; Director, Information Services Design and Development Group, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore, Maryland; Chief Technology Officer and Acting Deputy CIO, Army Materiel Command, Huntsville, Alabama; Director for Data Management, US Army Tank and Automotive Armaments Command, Warren, Michigan; Program Manager for Product Lifecycle Management, US Army Tank Automotive R&D Center, Warren, Michigan; Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Product Development, Imagecom Inc., Arlington, Texas; Reasearch Associate, Automation and Robotics Research Institute, Ft. Worth, Texas; and Systems Engineer, FlightSafety International Inc., Hurst, Texas. Dr. Iyer holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from India’s National Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas, a MBA from the Ross School or Business, University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas. He is Acquisition Corps certified, a Project Management Professional (PMP), and Lean Six Sigma (Black Belt). His top civilian awards and professional achievements include the Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the International William Conroy Standards Professional Award. He has published dozens of peer reviewed papers and articles worldwide. Dr. Iyer also co-founded a venture capital funded startup company focused on developing web-based enterprise software products for design collaboration in the engineering supply chain.
Mr. Judge serves within the Headquarters Department of the Army Office (HQDA) of the CIO as the Deputy Director for the Enterprise Cloud Management Agency (ECMA). The ECMA was established to provide centralized oversight, resourcing and execution of Army’s Cloud Plan as part of the broader Army Digital Transformation Strategy. He previously served as the Acting Director for Operations and Architecture for HQDA CIO/G-6 where he led the development and implementation of Army’s Cloud Computing initiative, centralized IT asset visibility and Army’s Data Strategy implementation. Prior to the CIO/G-6, he was selected as one of 10 Civilians recruited for the inaugural Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group to research strategic issues Army would likely face in a 20-year timeframe. Specifically, he collaborated with Federal Agencies, FFRDCs, academia and commercial industry on a study of big data analytic and network resiliency concepts to address a future congested and contested IT operating environment. Mr. Judge was the Deputy Product Manager Acquisition Business Systems within the Army’s Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS). He has extensive experience in information technology architecture, program management, software and hardware integration, data center consolidation and supply chain management. Mr. Judge’s professional career includes over 15 years in private industry as an Engineer and Technical Manager at several companies in California’s Silicon Valley. As a defense contractor with GTE Systems, he has designed and integrated communications equipment and subsystems for intelligence community customers. In the commercial realm, Mr. Judge has held engineering, management and technical marketing roles at leading semiconductor firms, Altera and Actel corporations, as well product manager at Invox Technology; a venture-backed startup company. In addition, he spent several years consulting in network architecture, data center operations and network security at wireless telecommunications and internet service providers Earthlink, Teligent and SkyOnline. Mr. Judge’s education includes a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces and Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University. He completed is currently working on his Master in Program Management from the Naval Postgraduate School. He holds Level III Acquisition certifications in Program Management and Information Technology as well as several professional IT certifications including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), National Security Agency’s Information Assurance Methodology (NSA/IAM), NSA’s Information Evaluation Methodology (NSA/IEM) and Carnegie Mellon’s Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method. Mr. Judge’s awards include Superior Civilian Service and Commanders’ Award for Civilian Service.
Brian Keller joined SAIC in January 2010 and today serves as Vice President, Army and SOCOM Strategic Account Executive with Leidos. He leads Army and Special Operations strategy development and provides business development support, customer account management, strategic capture and proposal development across Leidos for the long-term growth of the enterprise. Brian helped shape the Department of the Army G2 Quick Reaction capability Vigilant Pursuit sole- source letter contract award for production of the next set of Vigilant Pursuit Systems deployed to support Army forces in Afghanistan. He was instrumental in supporting key awards focused on our troops in harm’s way including Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Enhanced in October, 2015, Biometrics Automated Toolset-Army (BAT-A) Sustainment Task Order in May 2017, and Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) in June 2017. He serves today on the intelligence committees for both AFCEA and NDIA. Before joining SAIC, Brian spent nearly 30 years as a Soldier achieving the rank of Major General before retiring in 2010 while serving as the Director of Military Support at the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Brian served in a wide variety of intelligence command and staff assignments at tactical, Army, Special Operations Forces, and Joint commands. He has extensive service in joint, Special Operations, and operational deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served as the J2 / Senior Intelligence Office for the Joint Special Operations Command, United States European Command, and Multi-National Forces-Iraq where he was selected by General Petraeus to lead his combat intelligence staff, the command’s largest and most complex joint, coalition, and Inter-Agency directorate of over 900 people. He shaped and executed a multi-billion dollar intelligence budget in Iraq that successfully brought to bear dozens of programs for commanders. As the J2 for a joint special operations command, he was responsible for intelligence support that led to the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch, capture of Saddam Hussein, and dozens of successful deep strike operations during the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. As the Deputy Commanding General United States Army Intelligence Center, Fort Huachuca, AZ, he supervised training and successfully managed a $100 million budget that prepared over 6900 Soldiers in eight months to support unprecedented Army wartime mission requirements. Brian is a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and has master’s degree in Strategic Studies, US Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, KS, and a master’s degree in Military Studies, School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, KS. Brian resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, Diane. They have two sons: Chris, a Solutions Architect at Redhat, and Dan, an Army Infantry Major, two daughter-in-laws Aimee and Jill, and four , Grandchildren: Willow, Violet, Jack, and Zinnia.
Sandra Lopez is the Chief Technology Officer for the Enterprise IT & Cyber Solutions (E&CS) organization within Leidos Defense. Sandra influences and directs technology innovation for the E&CS portfolio of programs across the Army, Navy, Air Force, DISA, NATO, and defense agencies. Her responsibilities include developing short-, mid-, and long-term technology and program-specific strategic plans for the organization and advising on how to achieve them tactically. Sandra’s knowledge and experience inform Leidos’ service offerings in software integration, systems deployment, and operations management services for enterprise management, cloud solutions, and cybersecurity. She provides value-added solutions architecture support to Leidos’ business development and capture management organizations tailored to customer needs, including design, development, engineering, integration, accreditation, deployment, and operations. She has supported projects for U.S. DoD and Intelligence Community agencies in IT modernization, cloud hosting, model-based systems engineering, data analytics, augmented intelligence, and machine learning. Previously, Sandra served in technical leadership roles at SAIC, Engility, AT&T, and Telcordia Technologies over a 38-year career in IT and telecommunications networks management. She managed geographically dispersed technical teams that delivered innovative professional services support to international network service providers, the U.S. Government, all major U.S. telecommunications carriers, leading network equipment vendors, and Fortune 500 enterprises in the United States, Europe, and Middle East. Sandra has experience in delivering managed services and technology management solutions that include network and data center operations management services. Her customers have benefitted of improvements in many Key Performance Indicator areas, including availability, service delivery, quality of service, and customer satisfaction (e.g., 20% improvement in First Call Resolution, sixfold reduction in daily ticket volumes, more than 90% improvement in mean time to repair, 270% improvement in average ticket pickup times, nearly 40% reduction in NOC staff levels). Sandra holds a master’s degree in operations research from Georgia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University Of Puerto Rico. She is fluent in Spanish and on her spare time loves to bike and kayak.
Mr. Matthew R. Maier serves as the Project Manager, Interoperability, Integration and Services (I2S) under the PEO C3T at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. In this role, Mr. Maier leads a workforce of more than 250 personnel supporting Command Post Integrated Infrastructure, Common Hardware Systems, Tactical Cyber and Network Operations, and Tactical Network Initialization and Configuration. Mr. Maier will also oversee the development and integration of the Army’s network capability sets, which modernize the tactical network through an iterative process infused with cutting-edge commercial solutions informed by Soldier-led experimentation. Mr. Maier recently served as Product Manager for Network Modernization under the Project Manager Tactical Network where he successfully managed 13 product lines and led more than 130 acquisition professionals in procuring expeditionary, resilient, and secure networking technology for Army Soldiers. Throughout his career, Mr. Maier has supported multiple Army acquisition organizations in program management roles, including PEO Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors (PEO IEW&S), PEO Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS), PEO for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation, and Systems of Systems Engineering and Integration. He has also held key positions in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology (ASA(ALT)), the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command Life Cycle Management Command, the DoD Joint Spectrum Center, the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, and Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. Key roles included Director of the ASA(ALT) Cyber Focal, providing Army acquisition, logistics and technology coordination, synchronization, analysis, and integration of cyberspace capabilities for all cyberspace matters for the Army Acquisition Executive. He was also a Deputy Product Manager and Technical Director for Information Warfare capabilities at Project Manager Electronic Warfare and Cyber at PEO IEW&S. Product Manager Network Modernization was his second assignment as a CSL/Board Select Product Manager, his first being Product Manager for Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care at PEO EIS from 2015–2018. Mr. Maier has a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA. He is also a graduate of the Senior Service College Fellowship from the Defense Acquisition University, Aberdeen, MD. He holds certificates in Computer, Information, and Software Intensive Systems from George Mason University and Chief Information Officer and Information Assurance certificates from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Mr. Maier has served more than 30 years in the DoD Acquisition Workforce and holds Level III Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act certifications in Program anagement, Systems Engineering, and Test and Evaluation and has been a member of the Army Acquisition Corps since 2001.
Mr. Dovarius L. Peoples was selected for the Senior Executive Service in January of 2016. He assumed the position of the Chief Information Officer (CIO)/ G6 in April of 2019 with the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE). In this role, he serves as the principal advisor to the Commanding General on information technology issues. He is responsible for all aspects of information resource management and information technology for USACE. Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Peoples served as the Deputy to the Commanding General, U.S. Army NETCOM. In this capacity, Mr. Peoples provided senior technical leadership to ensure Army Theater level networks were integrated into the Army's portion of the Department of Defense Information Network (DoDIN) and enterprise constructs. The command employed over 14,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel located in every theater in 20 countries around the world and with an annual budget of in excess of $1.4 billion. Previous Assignments include: September 2009 - April 2010: Information Systems Security Engineer, National Security Agency (NSA), Washington, D.C.; April 2010 - February 2013: Information Assurance Division Chief (IAM), USCYBERCOM J6, Fort Meade, Md.; February 2013 – November 2013: Lead Architecture Engineer, Mobility PMO, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Fort Meade, Md.; November 2013 – August 2015: Deputy Director Operations, US Army Information Technology Agency (ITA), Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; August 2015 – January 2016: Deputy Director Cyber Solutions, Joint Service Provider Pentagon (JSP), Washington, D.C.; January 2016 – July 2018: Associate Chief Information Officer, Office of Personnel Management, Washington, D.C.; July 2018 - April 2019: Deputy to the Commanding General, US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM). Mr. Peoples’ education includes a Master of Science in Information Technology, with an emphasis in Information Assurance, from the University of Maryland, University College, College Park, Md., awarded in 2012. Mr. Peoples’ also has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, from Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Va., awarded in 2009. Significant Training taken by Mr. Peoples includes the Advanced Program Manager Course, Defense Acquisition University. His certifications include: Program Management, Acquisition Professional Development Program; ITIL Foundations V.3. Awards and Honors include the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award. Mr. Peoples is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM).
