New GSA Chief Promises Quick Changes Changes are coming to the General Services Administration – and soon. That’s the message GSA’s new administrator, Lurita Doan, delivered in her first appearance before an industry group June 6. On her fourth day on the job, Doan told a conference of the Coalition for Government Procurement that every aspect of GSA’s operations can be improved. She asked the industry group to provide suggestions – within 30 days. She offered few specifics, but did make one pledge: “I will not rest until it is possible for a business to get a basic GSA schedule within 30 days.” She said she also plans to speed up processing of contract modifications. “This administrator intends to be your champion,” she told the industry executives. With only two-and-a-half years remaining in the Bush administration, Doan acknowledged she is in a hurry. She described herself as a decisive person who believes in the Latin motto Facta, non verba — actions, not words. The founder of an IT services company, Doan takes over an agency that has seen slowing revenue growth on some of its major contract vehicles. Some federal customers and contractors have complained that its “Get It Right” campaign, introduced to make sure laws and rules are followed, has slowed the pace of procurement through GSA schedules. GSA is in the midst of a major reorganization, combining its Federal Supply Service and Federal Technology Service into a single Federal Acquisition Service. Doan announced that Jim Williams, a career procurement executive, will serve as the first permanent commissioner of FAS. Williams comes from the Homeland Security department, where he managed the US-VISIT program. Doan said he will be her “right-hand man.” She said she believes in “quantitative performance metrics” to assess the performance of programs and find ways to make them work “faster and more effectively.”