OFPP's Burton to retire in July

Robert Burton, deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, will announce April 9 that he plans to retire in July.

Burton has been deputy administrator since 2001, when then-administrator Angela Styles recruited him from the Defense Logistics Agency, where Burton had worked as a senior acquisition attorney for more than 21 years.

During his time at OFPP, Burton has played a key role in directing and developing governmentwide acquisition policies, regulations and initiatives. He has guided agencies through changes in contracting and acquisition policies as OFPP handled contracting issues. For example, the agency recently published policies on rebuilding the acquisition workforce’s diminishing numbers and soon will issue a template for creating interagency agreements.

Burton was twice acting administrator at OFPP, from September 2003 to December 2004 and from September 2005 to August 2006. He also led the office after former administrator David Safavian was arrested and then eventually convicted of corruption charges unrelated to his OFPP position.

“Rob is a first-class guy,” said Larry Allen, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement. “This administration was fortunate that he was able to bridge the gap between administrators."

Burton is an analytical leader who studies policy issues and works well with task forces, working groups and procurement panels, industry experts said. He listens to arguments for different opinions on issues, said Olga Grkavac, executive vice president for the Information Technology Association of American’s public-sector group.

Grkavac said Burton is open and engaging with both agency officials and industry, and he was never disagreeable. “I could probably speak for many people when I say he was nice to work with,” she said.

Burton graduated from the College of William and Mary and received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute and the Senior Executive Fellows Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

He is a Federal 100 award winner, a National Contract Management Association fellow, recipient of the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Coalition for Government Procurement and recipient of the 2007 NCMA Contracting Award.