Dave Wennergren, the long-time and much respected Defense Department technology and management senior executive, is retiring after more than 30 years in government.

Wennergren, the assistant deputy chief management officer for DoD, will leave in August, according to an email announcing a going away party for him Aug. 1. He served in an assortment of positions, including the Department of Navy chief information, the DoD deputy CIO and director of the Business Transformation Agency. He also was vice chairman of the CIO Council for five years.

Emails to Wennergren seeking more details, including his plans for his post- government career, were not returned.

“Dave has always been a leader and agent of positive change, never one who was satisfied with business as usual,” said Mark Forman, former administrator in the office of E-Government and IT at the Office of Management and Budget, and now co- founder of the Government Transaction Services. “I am sure he will continue to have an impact in whatever he chooses as his next endeavor.”

Wennergren’s current and now last position at DoD really brought together his two passions: technology and management.

As the assistant deputy chief management officer, he sought to bring together and improve military business operations to improve the systems’ effectiveness and efficiency.

He led the development of a new business strategic plan in 2011. He told Federal News Radio’s DoD reporter Jared Serbu in an interview when the plan came out, “You need a set of goals, but then you need explicit performance measures that help you actually measure the progress of your plans. The strategic management plan has those measures in them. Those measures begin at the very top of the organization and then they drive down to how individual organizations contribute, until you get down to how individual leaders and individual employees contribute. And that has to find its way all the way down into performance plans.”

He also helped set up a new investment review process for DoD business systems, which was supposed to shut down legacy systems.

“Dave throughout his career has demonstrated leadership and caring for people,” said Karen Evans, the former OMB E-Government and IT administrator who worked with Wennegren when he was vice chairman of the CIO Council. “He has served as a role model for all information technology and management career staff with his accomplishments and personal career achievements. I know I am a better person for working with Dave with his insights into people and his leadership. I owe much to Dave and feel fortunate to call him my friend.”

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