Ms. Kay Ely is a senior acquisition and business leader with over 35 years of public and private sector experience in diverse technical areas at the enterprise level. For close to 20 years of her government career, she was a member of Senior Executive Service (SES) and is a current member of the Senior Executives Association (SEA). Ms. Ely is a superior leader, communicator, and results-oriented change agent, who has led policy, program, and staff through significant growth and change.
Since her retirement from federal service in December 2018, Ms. Ely has continued supporting the federal government serving as a consultant to companies interested in doing business with the government and ensuring the delivery of quality supplies and services. In this role she is the President and Owner of The Ely Group, LLC.
Ms. Ely held multiple SES positions within the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS); these included Assistant Commissioner, Information Technology Category (ITC), Deputy Assistant Commissioner ITC, and Director of IT Schedule Programs.
During her tenure at ITC, she and her team grew the ITC business volume by $2 billon, she led the development and program management of IT acquisition and telecommunication products and services, cyber, and shared services to global federal, state, and local customers. Ms. Ely also managed the complex reorganization of an IT category-specific operational model and led the Federal Marketplace initiative.
At the Office of Personnel Management, as the Human Resources Solutions Associate Director, Ms. Ely set strategic direction and led a $700 million fee-for service, 3,600-person nationwide organization providing human resources products and services through multiple business lines. In 2011, she organized and led a historic, comprehensive OPM reorganization; served as Head of Contracting Activity (HCA)/Senior Procurement Executive (SPE); managed USA Staffing supporting more than 70 federal agencies; transformed USAJOBS to be a recruitment market leader; managed the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, serving 8.5 million people; and managed a federal retiree trust fund account of over $1 trillion.
Earlier, Ms. Ely served as Associate Administrator for Acquisition Implementation in the Executive Office of the President, SES Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget (OMB). She served as a member of the Federal Acquisition Institute Board of Directors and as an Advisor to the President’s Management Council, Performance Based Contracts. She performed in a key government-wide acquisition policy-making role, served as acting OFPP Administrator during the Presidential transition, developed the Acquisition Policy Best Practices Guide, oversaw all Federal procurement organizations, spearheaded federal interagency IT acquisition program initiatives, and acted as VA Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition.
Ms. Ely has received the Presidential Rank Award and is a two-time Federal 100 award winner. She is an Acquisition SAGE with the Partnership for Public Service and was a Fellow with the National Academy of Public Administration.
