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News | July 21, 2022

Technical Director leaves legacy

By Tonya Johnson DCMA Public Affairs

FORT LEE, Va. — Matthew Lupone, the current director of the Defense Contract Management Agency Technical Directorate, is leaving the agency July 22. He is relocating to Florida to pursue other interests.

“Undoubtedly, I will miss the mission and those passionate with mission success,” Lupone said. “I have found it very satisfying from a personal and professional standpoint in working with a dedicated workforce focused on achieving common goals through teamwork. We spend more time at work than we do with our families sometimes, and I have been very fortunate to have found a second family with DCMA.”

Michael Shields, the executive director of Quality Assurance, will be the acting TD director.

Lupone started his TD position in June 2020. His goals were to build upon the collaborative teams across the agency, enhance employees’ functional tradecraft, and strengthen the relationships with the military services, other federal agencies and stakeholders.

In his position, Lupone served as the principal advisor and assistant to the DCMA director and senior leadership team on all aspects of the agency’s technical mission and responsibilities. He led a team that established the overall technical requirements and execution of logistics and safety functions in accordance to the agency’s contract technical management mission.

One of Lupone’s recent accomplishments was his work with the Resource Workload Model team and their goal to measure employee workloads.

“The Resource Workload Model enables the agency to measure workload in a consistent and standardized manner, which was something DCMA had been trying to do for 20 years,” Lupone said. “Measuring workload is just the start. It’s the decisions that they enable that are the real value. To that end, I have witnessed the regions and other operational units use the RWM to make decisions. They are ensuring consistency where it makes sense and cross-leveling resources within their commands to meet priorities. They are using them to model efficiencies and innovation and that should serve to force multiply continuous improvements across the agency.”

John Ellis, the director of the Software Division in the Technical Directorate, said that Lupone’s leadership in developing the RWM ensured its success. He described Lupone as an outstanding leader who empowered his team.

“Mr. Lupone joined TD near the beginning of the COVID outbreak,” said Ellis. “There were challenges to maintain mission effectiveness across a remote workforce. As a result of his flexible leadership, TD has excelled in performing its mission. The Resource Workload Model is an example of his leadership where his personal involvement led the agency to a much better understanding of the resource needs to perform our critical functions. His energy, passion for excellence, and enthusiasm will be missed the most.”

Lupone said that he has grown as a leader over the last two years. He has enhanced his communication skills and become a continuous learner. He credits his team and other DCMA senior leaders for helping him grow as a leader.

“Their wide-ranging talents have kept me on my toes,” he said. “I have learned a lot from them. These individuals have made me a better person and professional.

“I want to thank my team for their support. For two years, I had the distinct privilege to serve as their technical director, which was an honor. I wish nothing but the best to these outstanding and dedicated professionals as they continue to drive greater value of our service to the warfighters. I salute them.”

This wasn’t his first position with DCMA. Lupone is a retired Air Force colonel and the previous commander of DCMA Lockheed Martin Sunnyvale in California where he served from 2014 to 2016. While commander, his team won the agency’s 2015 Director’s Cup.

As a leader who values teamwork, Lupone, who has more than 20 years of acquisition experience, said he was excited to be a part of the DCMA senior leadership team. As a senior leader, he helped to enhance collaboration across the agency.

“I am proud of the agency, and I believe DCMA does a fantastic job of supporting the services and our stakeholders,” said Lupone. “In my position, my staff and I worked with the regions and field units to better understand and address their challenges so we could improve upon our successes.”

During his time with the agency, Lupone also served on a detail from DCMA with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment where he helped to stand up the U.S. Space Force. He led an Integrated Product Team to align all Department of Defense space acquisition activities and supported the development of devising roles and responsibilities of the new assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration.

“Supporting the Space Force was the perfect tune-up game for me,” he said. “My position gave me the ability to interact with the Department of Defense senior leaders as well as military service senior leaders and participate in the discussions that are driving current acquisition strategies and decisions. This experience allowed me to reflect on how DCMA can continue to enhance customer support given these dynamic times.”

Lupone said his experience with Space Force allowed him to understand how DCMA could work with the military to improve DOD acquisition implementation strategies.

“It is an imperative and recurring theme largely because of the need due to our competitive advantage that is slowly eroding,” he said. “As the technical director, I supported the alignment between stakeholders and the agency’s strategy and goals so that DCMA could support our customers deliver better solutions faster.”

As he reflects on his tenure as the technical director and other positions with the agency, Lupone said DCMA has evolved over the years and he is excited to see the workforce’s future accomplishments. He has seen the DCMA team use more tailored contract administrative services, make more data-driving decisions, and share lessons learned across the agency.

“Policies and manuals can only provide guidance to the least common denominator,” he said. “Tailoring contract administration through critical thinking and meeting customer needs is more important than following policy.

“During my tenure, I have witnessed the regions and operational units take ownership of the value-added movement. They have made the Product Data Reporting and Evaluation Program, which is an automated information system that allows employees to record, process and review data using a centralized repository, better. DCMA is getter better because of the enthusiasm and passion across the workforce. I have had a front-row seat to participate in this and watch this evolution over the last few years, and it has been exciting.”