Fred Schobert plans retirement

Fred Schobert, one of the architects of the General Services Administration's Networx contract, is planning to retire from the agency later this month.

In an e-mail message sent to colleagues and contractors, Schobert said the Networx contract was a significant accomplishment.

"It seems to me only yesterday that we were working on an acquisition strategy that would allow us to successfully engage commercial industry in a competitive acquisition that would result in award of two of the most comprehensive telecommunications contracts ever, Networx Universal and Networx Enterprise," he wrote. " It seems even more incredible that we pulled this off with awards on time to a very demanding schedule, no industry protests, and prices below projections. This required a superior team of program managers, technical leaders, contract officers, financial experts, and other professionals."

Schobert, whose formal titile is director of the Office of Infrastructure Optimization in the Integrated Technology Services section of GSA's Federal Acquisition Service, plans to retire June 20. He said he is considering his options for private sector work, but has not made a final decision where to go.