Winkler steps down as Army PEO-EIS

The Army’s program executive officer for enterprise information systems, Gary Winkler, announced today he will step down from the position next month.

“I have worked on and off for the Army since 1980...loved every minute of it and every aspect of it,” Winkler said in an e-mail message announcing his departure. “However, for a variety of reasons, it is time to move on. I will be transitioning out of the office in April.”

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Winkler became PEO-EIS in October 2007, and he has led a workforce of roughly 2,600 military, civilian and contractor personnel in developing IT systems for the Defense Department and Army. As PEO-EIS, Winkler has been responsible for an annual portfolio of more than $4 billion, according to a bio on the website of AFCEA International's Washington, D.C., chapter.

Before becoming PEO-EIS, he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service and became the Army’s first chief knowledge officer, responsible for IT policies, programs and systems that support the Army’s warfighting and business missions, according to an October 2010 story featuring Winkler as a Government Computer News award winner.

Winkler began his federal civilian career in 1989, working at the PEO for Command and Control Systems’ Joint Tactical Fusion Program Management Office before being promoted to division chief of that office’s Intelligence Fusion program three years later. He also worked as an acquisition specialist at Army headquarters.

Winkler has won a number of awards:

• Presidential Rank Awards (Distinguished Executive Rank 2007, Meritorious Executive Rank 2009).
• Secretary of the Army’s Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service (2006). 
• Army’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award (2003).
• Army’s Superior Civilian Service Award (1996, 2000).

He has also won a number of industry awards, including Federal Computer Week’s Federal 100 award.