Springer will leave OPM

Linda Springer has announced her resignation as director of the Office of Personnel Management effective Aug. 13, an OPM spokesman said today. Springer told Bush administration officials July 15 of her plans to leave OPM to take a position in the private sector.OPM Deputy Director Howard Weizmann will serve as acting director, the spokesman said.Springer became OPM director in June 2005 after being comptroller in the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Financial Management. While in that position, she reduced the turnaround time for agencies to report their year-end financial results from five months to 45 days, OPM said.As OPM director, Springer has led human resources planning, benefits programs, services and policies for the government’s civilian workforce. She has managed the world’s largest single-employer-sponsored health insurance program, a $700 billion asset retirement program, most federal employee and contractor background investigative services, human resources and compensation consulting, and management development programs, OPM said.Max Stier, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for Public Service, said of Springer's  tenure,  “Her leadership and vision have been indispensable to our government as it confronts a wave of retirements, a war for talent and increasing responsibilities in a global economy.” Springer has also worked to modernize the process and reduce the time it takes to conduct initial background investigations, and she has supported telework programs.She is a principal of the government’s Joint Financial Management Improvement Program and was named a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow in 2006.Before her federal career, Springer held executive posts in general and financial management and strategic and operational planning at Provident Mutual and Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co.