To commemorate 20 years of the Department of Homeland Security, HSToday Executive Editor Kristina Tanasichuk sat down with Mike Derrios.
Michael W. Derrios is a recognized leader in the field of government acquisition with more than 25 years of federal, military and private sector experience. He has been a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2015.
Mr. Derrios currently serves as the Senior Procurement Executive for the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, he is responsible for planning, coordinating, directing, and evaluating all global procurement and contracting operations and activities within the Department of State as well as procurement grants and cooperative agreements, which constitute a broad and complex support mechanism for the Department and the Foreign Service. He provides department-wide leadership and serves as the principal expert advisor on formulating and developing acquisition policies and business processes for conducting procurement and contracting functions effectively and economically. The Department of State spends approximately $9.5 billion each year to carry out its mission of representing America’s foreign policy abroad and advancing the interests and security of the American people.
Prior to joining the State Department, Mr. Derrios served as the Senior Procurement Executive and Head of Contracting Activity for the United States Coast Guard (USCG) where he was responsible for all contracting functions within the agency, including functional responsibility for over 500 civilian and military personnel throughout the United States and abroad. He led efforts to recapitalize assets for the Service through Major Acquisition Programs, including award of the largest contract in USCG and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) history for detailed design and construction of the Offshore Patrol Cutter fleet with a life cycle value of $10 billion.
Mr. Derrios was a plank holder for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and helped stand up the agency from its inception under the Department of Transportation through its transition to DHS, serving in various contracting and program management roles. He led a contracting portfolio valued at over $2 billion for national security programs and served as a senior advisor to the Assistant Administrator for Acquisition, driving strategic initiatives to bolster service delivery. He led the Checkpoint Technologies Division in the TSA Office of Security Capabilities where he was responsible for a program management office that deployed the nationwide fleet of passenger and carry-on baggage screening equipment, valued at $5 billion in life cycle costs. Mr. Derrios also served as the program director for the expansion of TSA PreCheck® helping to increase eligible populations for expedited security screening.
