DHS' Rothwell to step down

Greg Rothwell, the Homeland Security Department's procurement chief, announced his retirement today. In an e-mail to his staff, Rothwell said his last day would be Dec. 2.

Rothwell has been with DHS since July 2003 and has overseen every major agency acquisition?from Electronically Managing Enterprise Resources for Government Effectiveness and Efficiency to the U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology system to the upcoming Eagle and First Source procurements.

There has been no decision on a replacement. Elaine Duke is Rothwell's deputy chief procurement officer.

"He is the consummate procurement professional," said Bob Lam, senior executive with Accenture LLP of Reston, Va. "He is someone we will all miss in the procurement community. His style is one of partnership, and that did a lot because it created a trust with the vendor community."

Before coming to DHS, Rothwell worked at the IRS, where he was credited with revamping some of its procurement processes.

In the mid-1990s, Rothwell also worked to reverse a federal policy that barred procurement officials from communicating with vendors after they had started the procurement process.