July 09, 2019
On Tuesday, July 9, the National Academy of Public Administration and Grant Thornton hosted a Working Capital Fund Symposium on exploring the unique human capital challenges and opportunities in the WCF space.
The quarterly WCF Symposium aims to develop discussions to adopt a more streamlined WCF approach. Through this collaborative effort, government executives and managers can discuss WCF issues, share lessons learned, and gather best practices. Agency leaders share their insights to implement and sustain Working Capital Funds.
Keynote speaker Kevin E. Mahoney (Director of Human Resources & Chief Human Capital Officer in the U.S. Department of Commerce, DOC) has over 40 years of human resource experience. Mr. Mahoney joined the Federal Government’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in May, 2003. In March, 2013 he was appointed the Director of Human Resource Management and Chief Human Capital Officer for the DOC. Previously, he has served as the Chief Human Capital Officer for the US Small Business Administration and as the Associate Director for the OPM’s Human Capital Leadership and Merit System Accountability Division. In his current role, Mr. Mahoney is responsible for advancing the strategic management of human capital at DOC and manages the Office of Human Resource Management.
The second keynote speaker, Jeffrey Neal (Former Chief Human Capital Officer of the Defense Logistics Agency, DLA) has extensive federal human resources and information technology experience, having served as a career civil servant for 33 years, including 13 years as a member of the Senior Executive Service. He served as the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) for the 23,000-employee DLA from 2000–2009. At DLA, he identified more than $50 million in administrative and operational savings—a transformation cited by the Partnership for Public Service as a model for other federal agencies. Before joining ICF, Mr. Neal was appointed in June 2009 as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) CHCO. As Principal Human Capital advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security and CHCO for DHS, he was responsible for the development, execution, and oversight of human capital programs for a department of more than 234,000 civilian and military employees. Currently, Mr. Neal is the author for ChiefHRO, a blog where he shares insight and views on Human Resources, management matters, and more.
Following Ms. Picard’s presentation, Q&A breakout sessions allowed participants to discuss lessons learned.