Defense Business Board to discuss CMO this week

By John Liang / May 5, 2020 at 10:08 AM

The Defense Business Board is meeting this week to discuss the role of the Pentagon's endangered chief management office, according to a notice in today's Federal Register.

"The CMO Assessment Task Group will present their findings and recommendations to the full board for deliberation and vote," the May 5 notice reads.

During the May 6 meeting, Defense Department CMO Lisa Hershman will provide the board with an update on her office's recent activities. Additionally, the board will discuss the findings of one of two congressionally mandated assessments of the CMO.

Congress created the CMO position in 2015 to be the No. 3 post at the Pentagon, granting the role authority over all enterprise business operations and shared services.

But lawmakers are now considering abolishing the CMO position, Inside Defense reported in January. The report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act noted "significant structural challenges" in implementing the CMO position since its inception. Pending the results of two assessments directed by the NDAA, lawmakers intend "to disestablish the Chief Management Officer position altogether," according to the conference report.

Hershman was confirmed as CMO in December after serving in an acting capacity since DOD's first CMO, Jay Gibson, resigned in November 2018.

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