Acting DOD Chief Management Officer Lisa Hershman has received White House support to take the role permanently and become the agency’s official third in command, Nextgov.com reported.
Hershman, who has performed as acting CMO for the past seven months, received President Donald Trump’s approval for her permanent appointment Tuesday, announcing his intent to formally nominate her for the role.
Hershman took over for DOD’s first CMO John Gibson who resigned last November after under nine months in the role.
If confirmed by the Senate, Hershman would become third in line to the defense secretary. A permanent appointee is considered crucial by lawmakers who want the CMO to lead substantive change in the department, according to the report.
Currently all three top Pentagon positions including the defense secretary, deputy secretary and CMO are being performed by officials in an acting capacity.
Prior to her DOD role Hershman served as CEO and founder of The DeNovo Group. She has also served as CEO of Hammer and Company and senior vice president of operational excellence at Avnet.
The CMO was initially proposed in the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, but later became a deputy role. The fiscal 2017 NDAA reinstated the CMO as a standalone DOD official, considered crucial to the Pentagon’s reform efforts.
U.S. Army photo by Monica King