Biden to Nominate former HUD Official to Lead Federal Procurement Office

President Biden announced late Wednesday afternoon his intention to nominate Biniam Gebre, a former Housing and Urban Development official during the Obama administration, to lead the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. 

Gebre is currently a senior managing director at Accenture Federal Services. While at HUD, he served as general deputy assistant secretary, acting assistant secretary and commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration. After leaving HUD and prior to joining Accenture, he served as a partner at management consulting firm Oliver Wyman; earlier in his career he was a partner at McKinsey, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Gebre “has spent the past two decades helping dozens of organizations within both the public sector and private sector address management, operational, and technology issues ranging from agriculture to banking to artificial intelligence,” said the announcement from the White House. “He served in the Obama-Biden administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he focused on access to credit for low-income families, FHA’s financial health, and revitalizing public housing properties.”

If confirmed, Gebre would play a leading role in administering the administration’s ambitious procurement goals around tackling climate change and advancing racial equity. OFPP is part of the White House Office of Management and Budget. 

Biden has yet to nominate an OMB director, after Neera Tanden withdrew her confirmation in March. He is the only president in recent history to not have an OMB director by inauguration or shortly thereafter.