The White House has appointed new leadership to the General Services Administration (GSA), drawing heavily from the tech and finance sectors. On day one of the Trump administration, GSA welcomed its new team, including Stephen Ehikian as deputy administrator and acting administrator. (Federal News Network January 20, 2025)
Larry Allen, a longtime GSA expert, will become the associate administrator of the Office of Governmentwide Policy. Ehikian also introduced key political appointments: Josh Gruenbaum as commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, Mike Peters as commissioner of the Public Building Service, and Thomas Shedd as director of the Technology Transformation Service and deputy FAS commissioner. (ibid)
In an email message, Ehikian emphasized the GSA’s recommitment to its founding purpose of ensuring governmentwide efficiency and maximizing taxpayer value. “I recognize the critical importance of our agency’s mission and look forward to working together in the coming weeks to achieve it,” he stated. (ibid)
Ehikian outlined six guiding principles for the GSA:
- Foster a culture of performance and accountability across federal government operations.
- Eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal budget and processes.
- Leverage best-in-class technologies to accelerate digital transformation and modernize IT infrastructure.
- Uphold competitive principles that strengthen America’s economy, including fair and merit-based contract awards.
- Promote “Made in America” policies to support domestic jobs and businesses.
- Improve transparency, accountability, and collaboration within the GSA and with external partners. (ibid)
In a separate message, Ehikian detailed the agency’s future direction. He highlighted the GSA’s traditional role as a model of efficiency and pledged to refocus on streamlining government operations. “We will prioritize smarter, faster government services over larger, slower systems,” he explained. Ehikian also committed to aligning GSA priorities with the Trump administration’s objectives, such as:
- Relocating federal operations from Washington, D.C., to regional facilities to boost economic opportunities nationwide.
- Transitioning federal employees back to office environments to improve collaboration and accountability.
- Supporting American innovation and removing ideological mandates, such as Green New Deal and ESG requirements, from construction and procurement policies.
- Right-sizing the federal office portfolio by disposing of underutilized buildings and improving operational efficiency.
- Enhancing transparency, accountability, and partnerships across government and industry. (ibid)
Ehikian acknowledged the dedication of GSA employees, attributing the agency’s transformation to their expertise and hard work. He announced plans for a new performance-based reward structure to align employee incentives with the agency’s mission. (ibid)
Ehikian brings extensive private-sector experience to his role, including positions at Salesforce and co-founding Airkit.ai, which Salesforce acquired in 2023. He also led RelateIQ, sold to Salesforce in 2014 for $390 million. Ehikian earned an MBA from Stanford and degrees in mechanical engineering and economics from Yale. (ibid)
Josh Gruenbaum, the new commissioner of FAS, joins GSA after serving as a director at the global investment firm KKR. This marks his first public-sector role following private-sector experience since graduating from NYU with dual MBA and JD degrees. (ibid)
Additionally, Ehikian named Frank Schuler and Michael Lynch as senior advisors in the administrator’s office and appointed Rusty McGranahan as general counsel. (ibid)
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