Multi-cloud management moves front and center

Allen Hill is the Director of the Office of Telecommunications Services, Office of Information Technology Category (ITC), in GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). The Federal Acquisition Service provides buying platforms and acquisition services to Federal, DoD, State and Local governments for a broad range of items from office supplies to motor vehicles to information technology and telecommunications products and services.

As the Director of Telecommunication Services, Allen is responsible for a portfolio of contracts that provide government agencies with a diverse set of telecommunications services valued at over $3 billion annually. These offerings include Networx, Connections II, Custom SATCOM Solutions (CS2) and Custom SATCOM Solutions–Small Business (CS2-SB), Wireless FSSI and Managed Mobility, Federal Relay services for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and over 80 local telecommunications services contracts. Mr. Gavino is also responsible for the Network Services 2020 Strategy to include Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions ((EIS): replacement for Networx), and for program leadership across GSA’s 11 Regional Network Services organizations.

Allen came to ITC from Department of Education where he served as the Director, Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). During his 5 years with ED’s OCIO, Allen led the strategic planning, policy development, and executive management of all Information Technology (IT), Management (IM) and Assurance (IA) systems. He oversaw $50M+ in IT support services contracts, including those related to network, mobile, and security. His work has helped ensure that millions of students and thousands of schools throughout the nation receive their funds.

Previously, Allen served as the Director of Pacific Operations at CACI and Senior Technical Advisor with Verizon Business working with the Defense Information Information System Agency (DISA). He also has 20 years of experience with the US Air Force.

Allen’s certifications include Senior-Level Federal Acquisition Certification (FAC) for Program and Project Managers (PPM), Management Professional from Project Management Institute Project, and Certified Information Systems Security Professional.

Allen received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Science in Information Technology Project Management and Leadership from Capella University.

Sanjay Gupta recently joined the U.S. Small Business Administration as Chief Technology Officer from the private sector. Sanjay is a business driven, results oriented leader, adept at leveraging technology to innovate and deliver results quickly. He brings to SBA an exclusive combination of experiences as a CIO (Heidrick & Struggles, International Code Council, World Book), as a Managing Partner Consulting (Gartner), and as an Adjunct Research Analyst (IDC).

Throughout his career, Sanjay has led business/IT transformations across industries. He brings extensive global experience across industries in areas such as IT Strategy, Innovation, Digital Transformation, Architecture, Cloud, Mobile, Strategic Sourcing, Vendor Management, Contracting, Cybersecurity, Agile Development and Open Source.

Sanjay has authored over 20 research white papers focused on advice and guidance for CIOs/Boards. In addition, he is also a judge on the CIO 100 awards judging panel.

Steve Grunch is the Branch Chief for Enterprise Cloud Services at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). He is responsible for providing cloud engineering and infrastructure services to internal business units. His branch is also responsible for providing platform engineering services for the DevOps products offered to the enterprise.

Before joining USCIS, Steve worked as contractor for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has over 20 years of experience in delivering infrastructure services to a variety of companies in financial services, emergency management, and biotech sectors.

Steve holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer and Information Science from the University of Maryland University College, and a Masters of Professional Studies in Enterprise Architecture from Penn State University.

Zain Ahmed is vice president and general manager at CenturyLink for civilian agency sales and the company’s law enforcement and cybersecurity practice within the U.S. federal government. In this capacity, Zain leads a team of business professionals delivering innovative network, cloud computing, cyber security and IT mission support services with an emphasis on best-in-class solutions and customer experience via GSA’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract and other contract vehicles.

Zain has successfully led a broad range of organizations during his career, which includes 15 years of experience supporting government agencies with IT solutions. Most recently, he served as senior director of CenturyLink’s federal civilian practice. He previously served as client executive for the law enforcement vertical, where he led an organization responsible for the sales and service of the LAN managed service that generated substantial value for both customers and the company.

Prior to joining CenturyLink, Zain founded an international IT recycling business based out of Dubai. Before his own venture, he spent eight years at Verizon in various roles within the federal markets division supporting government agencies.

Zain holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Tom Temin has been the host of the Federal Drive since 2006. Tom has been reporting on and providing insight to technology markets for more than 30 years. Prior to joining Federal News Radio, Tom was a long-serving editor-in-chief of Government Computer News and Washington Technology magazines. Tom also contributes a regular column on government information technology.