Lee Kair, leader of Federal Strategy and Security Risk & Resilience at The Chertoff Group, joins host Ezekiel Russell, on the BEST8A Podcast to discuss federal contracting best practices. Kair started his career as a procurement officer in the U.S. Air Force. Over time, he became an operator at the Transportation Security Administration, responsible for the security functions at 450 airports nationwide.
During the podcast, Kair explains his understanding of the federal acquisition process from multiple perspectives including the Government Contracting Officer, Program Manager, and commercial seller. Now he helps companies who want to sell into the government do so more effectively. This involves presenting solutions designed to solve government challenges.
Shortly after 9/11, Kair helped standup the chief procurement officer function at the Department of Homeland Security, which included standing up the Strategic Sourcing program at DHS.
Kair says the focus of Strategic Sourcing should be about setting joint requirements across a Department to effectively purchase similar items, not solely focused on contracting vehicles. Coalescing joint requirements from multiple program offices across a large department is difficult, but pays dividends over time. It requires meaningful dialogue between the government and a variety of solution providers during the early portion of the acquisition process.
Kair says it is worth getting the requirement right up front. Brining industry in early to help shape requirements is essential, because technology is always evolving. This method promotes competition.
Find the BEST8A Podcast on Spotify.
