PEO EIS welcomes new program executive officer in first-ever virtual Change of Charter ceremony

FORT BELVOIR, Virginia — Ross R. Guckert accepted the charter to serve as the new program executive officer for the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) during a May 21 virtual change of charter ceremony livestreamed from Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The Honorable Dr. Bruce D. Jette, the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA[ALT]) and Army acquisition executive, hosted the ceremony, which had several hundred online viewers.

In a pre-recorded statement, Jette thanked retiring program executive officer Chérie A. Smith for her outstanding leadership, citing her successful management of one of the Army’s most diverse portfolios. “I have watched with admiration how effective she is at building coalitions across her entire stakeholder enterprise—from the secretariat to the chief of staff and across the Army,” said Jette. “I’m joined by the entire Army acquisition workforce and the soldiers we serve in sending heartfelt congratulations on a job well done.”

In recognition of her time spent as the program executive officer for PEO EIS, Smith was presented with the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal.

In a separate welcome message for the new program executive officer, Jette commended Guckert for his career “filled with one accomplishment after another,” noting that he possesses the strong leadership, sound business judgement, excellent communication skills, integrity and technical expertise necessary to fulfill his new mission.

Appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2017, Guckert has over 30 years of government experience in acquisition and systems management, and engineering. Before his appointment as program executive officer for PEO EIS, he served as deputy program executive officer for PEO Soldier, helping lead the development, integration, testing, acquisition, fielding, sustainment and modernization of more than 150 diverse programs of record. Prior to that, he served as deputy program executive officer at PEO Combat Support and Combat Service Support in Warren, Michigan, as acting deputy program executive officer at PEO Aviation in Huntsville, Alabama, and as assistant deputy for acquisition and systems management with ASA(ALT) at the Pentagon.

In his first remarks as head of PEO EIS, Guckert said he was blessed to serve there and shared his leadership philosophy. “I am here to set the conditions – the command climate, the resources, the encouragement, the recognition, the top cover, the vision, the leadership that you need to succeed,” he said. “I find if a workforce has those things, they can perform at the highest levels, and that brings peace and happiness. So know you’ll get those things from me at EIS.”

To view the PEO EIS Change of Charter ceremony in its entirety, please visit
https://youtu.be/zNmPGJwZTjU.