Acquisition veteran Michael Sade says goodbye to government

Michael Sade, senior adviser at the General Services Administration's Office of Integrated Technology Services, left his job at the agency this month and headed to the private sector, GSA officials said today.

Jim Williams, GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service commissioner, said Sept. 5 was Sade’s last day at ITS.

“We wish Mike well and thank him for his commitment to providing quality service and leadership that greatly benefited FAS customers. We wish him success with his future endeavors,” Williams said.

In a note to friends, Sade said he's taking time with his family, as the DorobekInsider.com blog reported.

Sade became the senior adviser at ITS after swapping roles with Steve Kempf, who became the assistant commissioner for acquisition management in FAS.

Sade started his career in June 1982 at the Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Research Service and worked there until October 1989. Sade moved to the Commerce Department where he held various acquisition positions, including that of procurement executive from December 2000 to January 2006. He also was the director for acquisition management, where he oversaw $3.5 billion in procurement and federal assistance management programs. In January 2007, Sade moved to GSA.

He has been a business leader in the federal marketplace while serving in various acquisition positions. He has managed contracting activities for buying information technology, facility operations and maintenance, directed studies regarding public-private competitions for government work, and privatization efforts. He also led efforts to automate acquisition systems and to establish the Commerce Information Technology Solutions governmentwide acquisition contract, which is now in GSA’s portfolio of GWACs.

Sade spoke often about the importance of helping less experienced employees in the acquisition workforce develop their skills. In an interview with Federal Computer Week in 2007, he said experienced employees should serve as mentors to the up-and-coming. To help with that, contracting officials nearing retirement should get a lighter workload so they can share their procurement know-how with younger employees, he said.

Within the government community, Sade was the president of the Association for Federal Information Resource Management in 2005 and was a member in the American Society for Public Administration, the Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association, and the World Futurist Society. He has co-authored articles for several publications dealing with federal procurement and has been a guest lecturer at American University.

Sade was a Federal 100 award winner in 2007.