ACT salutes Wennergren with federal service award

HILTON HEAD, S.C. Whenever Dave Wennergren has faced with a crisis, he never sweated it. The chief information officer of the Navy would usually walk through the office and tell his team that he wasn't worried about the crunch in the latest project they were working on because he knew they were worried about it, and that he was so glad to have them on his team.

Wennergren's tremendous trust and confidence in his team continues to inspire everyone who works with him today, said John Gilligan, former Air Force CIO, who presented Wennergren with the 2006 John J. Franke Award for government service. The award was given last night at the American Council for Technology/Industry Advisory Council's annual Management of Change Conference.

"Most anyone who has ever met [Wennergren] recognizes and responds to his positive energy and genuine enthusiasm," said Gilligan, who received the award in 2005, and currently is vice president and deputy director of the defense sector at SRA International Inc., Fairfax, Va. "He is committed to everything he touches and attracts others that are similarly committed to building a better more secure future for the warfighters and for the American citizens we support."

Wennergren, who is a 26-year veteran of the Navy Department, has served as Navy CIO since Dec. 1, 2002. He reports directly to the Secretary of the Navy and is responsible for overseeing the development and use of information management and IT and the creation of a unified IT vision for the Navy-Marine Corps team. He previously served as Navy's deputy CIO from 1998 to December 2002. Earlier this year, Wennergren was elected vice chairman of the federal government's Chief Information Officers Council.

The John J. Franke award has been given annually since 1999 to recognize outstanding leadership contributions to government. Winners are senior government officials with 15 to 20 years of service, who typically have been spokesmen for leading IT issues. The award is named after the late John J. Franke who was director of the Federal Quality Institute at the Agriculture Department and a long-time president of ACT. Each year, the award recipient is selected by a committee of the previous awardees.

"This is a wonderful honor," Wennergren said. "I've had the honor of working with a lot of really great people and it's obvious I would like to say thank you to all of them.

Barry West, Federal Emergency Management Agency CIO and president of ACT, thanked Wennergren for his work for both ACT and IAC.

"You have been a trusted advisor to us on many occasions and served us well in many capacities," West said. Wennergren has served as chairman for the Executive Leadership Conference, as an ACT advisory board member and a sponsor to one of our IAC IT partners.

Along with Gilligan, Wennergren joins former winners Sandra Bates, former commissioner of the Federal Technology Service at the General Services Administration; Ira Hobbs, Treasury Department CIO; David Borland, former Army CIO; Jim Flyzik, former Treasury Department CIO; and G. Martin Wagner, acting commissioner of GSA's Federal Acquisition Service.