Wayne Simpson is the principal, FedBizAssist, L.L.C., a North Carolina-based small business which he formed shortly after retiring with nearly 38 years of federal service at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its predecessor organization, the Veterans Administration. Wayne is a highly motivated business advocate with a proven track record of assisting businesses in the Federal Marketplace.
Before forming FedBizAssist, Wayne served as the Executive Assistant to VA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Logistics from October 2008, until his retirement, effective December 31, 2011. In this position, Wayne was the primary staff advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary, who also serves concurrently as VA’s Senior Procurement Executive and Debarring Official.
Prior to this assignment, Wayne served as Deputy Director of VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) for nearly eight years. A widely regarded demonstrative small business advocate and seasoned acquisition professional in his own right, Wayne joined OSDBU from VA’s National Cemetery Administration (NCA) Operations Support Center, Quantico, Virginia, where he served as Chief of NCA’s Centralized Contracting Division (Supervisory Contract Specialist) and a senior level warranted contracting officer (unlimited by dollar amount) from March 1995 to December 2000. Prior to that, Wayne served as Deputy Director, Office of Memorial Programs, VA Headquarters. Wayne also held the positions of contract administrator, contract specialist and procurement analyst with VA’s Office of Acquisition and Logistics, and served as a VA medical center contracting officer.
During his tenure as Deputy Director, VA Office of Memorial Programs, the organization was twice recognized by the President’s Council on Management Improvement for “demonstrating and promoting Government management excellence” and received such prestigious awards as Vice President Al Gore’s “Hammer Award,” the VA Deputy Secretary’s “Scissors Award” and VA’s coveted Robert W. Carey Quality Award.
A native Washingtonian (DC), Wayne is a graduate of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Executive Potential Program, where during the 104th Congress he served in a developmental assignment on the professional staff of the Veterans Affairs’ Committee’s Housing and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives. He is also a graduate of George Washington University’s Contemporary Executive Development Program and the Leadership VA Program Class of 1998.
Wayne’s experience at VA is significant and provides him with a unique combination of skill sets, knowledge and insight into the interrelation of small business programs, federal contracting and the challenges presented by their often competing interests. Wayne is the recipient of numerous honors, recognition and awards related to his performance and substantive contributions at VA.
Wayne is a subject matter expert on VA’s “Veterans First Contracting Program,” which implemented Sections 502 and 503 of Public Law 109-461, the Veterans Benefits, Healthcare and Information Technology Act of 2006. This law reorders the small business hierarchy at VA, placing Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs), first and second, respectively, as the highest priority sources in VA’s open market acquisitions. The law also provides VA with unique and unprecedented contracting authorities in contracting with SDVOSBs and VOSBs. Given these authorities, VA is a target-rich environment for procurement opportunities and remains the federal leader in contracting with SDVOSBs and VOSBs, spending in excess of $4.3 billion with these firms in Fiscal Year 2016.
VA is the largest federal civilian department and spends in excess of $20+ Billion annually for supplies and services in support of its mission. VA’s acquisition and logistics program is among the most complex in the federal government. Wayne’s experience at VA also provides him with unique knowledge and insight into VA’s culture, its acquisition and procurement operations, as well as VA procurement opportunities.
Wayne has testified as an expert witness in a qui tam lawsuit and has also testified before Congress on proposed acquisition legislation.
Wayne is a National Contract Management Association (NCMA)-Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM), and a Certified Schedules Contracts Manager (CSCM), certified by Centre Law & Consulting, Vienna, VA, an Education Partner of NCMA, where he is also an instructor. He is a member of the Senior Executives Association, the National Contract Management Association, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, a supporting member of the National Veterans Small Business Coalition, and a life member of the Leadership VA Alumni Association.