Executive Director/Deputy associate administrator

Alexander J. Kurien

*

A L E X A N D E R J K U R I E N

DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR U.S. Citizen: Yes

Active Security Clearance: Top Secret

Status SES Candidate: Yes

Highest Civilian Federal Grade Held: Active Senior Executive Service (SES) Career Professional Profile

I am an imaginative, innovative, and passionate senior executive and a global multibillion-dollar transformative partner with a long track record in reducing government program spending and strategically identifying potential governmentwide cost-avoidance opportunities and ways to improve government efficiency and performance. My expertise as a federal senior executive spans +25 years of managing 17 international portfolios valued over

$125B and administering 9 U.S. government-wide policies and 12 domestic management initiatives while building the framework for federal agencies to achieve efficiency in government spending and managing its owned and leased assets valued over $4.4T. With a blend of strategic, operational, and financial acumen, I have helped clients and customers navigate the challenge of large-scale strategic and technology-driven change and am actively engaged with clients and global alliance relationships. Through managing the office of strategic planning, I gained worldwide recognition and expertise in security-based prioritization of construction projects, long-range strategic planning, and funding justification and coordination of construction of the State Department’s worldwide real estate portfolio of $125B in over 180 countries. I have traveled through 147 countries for international high-level structured and strategic bilateral transactional negotiations. I am a well-balanced expert in global organizational leadership, legislative, federal regulatory, and policy developments, public and governmental affairs, strategic master planning, customer engagement & client solutions, and sound financial administration. I have the proven competence to drive innovation and develop solutions while bolstering relationships with Senior leaders at all levels, the government oversight community, and other key political stakeholders. Documented success in developing budgets, implementing reforms, and facilitating negotiations while ensuring alignment with short- and long-term business goals. I have hands-on experience in strategic organizational leadership, business operations, senior stakeholder management, financial management, internal and external communications, and interagency and international relations. I have successfully led groups of highly technical employees and cross-organizational teams, created a vision of a future state, managed complex enterprise-wide programs and projects, and contributed to government-wide performance improvement using information technology and displays to create transparency. My private and public sector activities enhanced my adaptive leadership competencies, such as dialogical skills, emotional intelligence, adaptive change, conflict resolution, and strategic planning. I excel in building a high-performing culture, establishing scalable systems coupled with Artificial Intelligence, aligning resources with goals, and demanding environments while being pragmatic and focused. Core Competencies

Regulatory Solutions for Government Efficiency

Human Capital & Performance Improvement

Federal Financial Management & Oversight

Asset Management & Capital Planning

Strategic Vision & Innovation

Federal Program & Regulatory Management

Operational Risk Assessment & Mitigation

High-stakes Negotiations & Closings

Business Efficiency & Service Delivery

Continuous Process Improvements

Customer Engagement & Client Solutions

Strategic Communications & Relations

Real Property and Facilities Management

Organizational Evaluation & Restructuring

Data Standards & Analytics

Technology Management & Modernization

c: 410-***-**** e: ***************@*****.*** linkedin.com/in/alexanderkurien Alexander J. Kurien

2

Career Experience

Office of Government-Wide Policy U.S. General Service Administration 2014 to Present I serve as an integral executive leadership team member, administering nine government policies and 12 initiatives while building the framework for agencies to achieve efficiency and performance improvement in government spending and managing its owned and leased assets. I have a proven track record of implementing current administration policy priorities. I design collaborative policies and execute programs for the Administration to improve government operations and administrative functions measured by financial performance, efficiency, and KPIs. My government-wide policy and program areas include federal real property

(valued at $2.1T, 2.8B SF, $166B in operating cost), travel ($20B), relocation ($1.3B), transportation ($2B), mail

($1B), motor vehicles (700K), personal property (2T), aviation (650 aircraft), and the committee management secretariat with oversight of 1,000 federal advisory committees. These nine distinct policies apply to the Executive Branch, 15 department or cabinet-level agencies, 66 independent executive agencies, and 275 subsidiary agencies (departments & independent), requiring building trust/consensus, negotiations, and extensive collaboration and partnership with senior leaders and lawmakers. The Federal Management Regulations and Federal Travel Regulations contain my nine policy areas. They are established and governed by 163 United States Codes, Statutes, Presidential Directives, Executive Orders, President’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars, and Management Policy Memorandums.

Senior Executive, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Asset and Transportation Management I leverage my expertise to improve government-wide performance in administrative functions and efficient operations by leading six divisions managing 9 U.S. governmentwide policies and 12 programs/initiatives, with a sphere of influence of $4.4T in the President’s annual budget (annual spend) and U.S. government’s financial statement. I chair 11 executive councils and committees. I represent my agency on the President’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, the President’s National Science and Technology Executive Council, the Senior Travel Officials Council, the U.S. Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, the Intergovernmental Policy Council to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Artificial Intelligence Governance Board, and the Federal Real Property Council.

Key Achievements

Published and implemented over 90 governmentwide management and operational policies (Federal Travel Regulation and Federal Management Regulation) to drive reforms that saved over $3B. Also, expect to save an additional $2.5B in the next five fiscal years.

Managed the development of the first-ever Federal “Travel Data” and “Real Property” data standards. The newly developed travel data standards will be used to procure the ETSNext governmentwide travel solution. The real property data standards will result in improved data quality and a governmentwide shared service system solution.

Oversaw the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) program, which consists of 1,000+ committees with over 75,000 members.

Issued policies and developed a state-of-the-art asset management system for efficient management and utilization of 861,000 buildings, structures, 2.8B square feet, $166B in operating costs, and 28 million acres - equating to $2.1T in U.S. federal real property and published the first-ever federal government’s worldwide inventory of land and buildings to promote transparency and accountability.

Promote the efficient life-cycle management of $2T in government-wide personal property assets.

Implemented the Computers for Learning (CFL) initiative, donating Information Technology Equipment valued at over $1B to nonprofit and educational organizations.

Managed $10B in governmentwide personal property donations through State government agencies.

Managed Motor Vehicle Management Policies and executed the first-ever asset-level data strategy for collecting asset-level fleet data from federal agencies, capturing details on 700K owned and leased vehicles with an annual operating expense of $5.5B. Alexander J. Kurien

3

Provided oversight, safety inspections, acquisition, use, and disposal of the Federal 650 aircraft fleet-

$1.7T.

Administered in coordination with HHS and HUD on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and the Title V policy for the agency, making suitable Federal real properties to mitigate homelessness.

Oversaw the governmentwide exchange/sales program, saving over $3B for the American people.

Developed and published annual per diem rates for hotels, meals, and travel for federal employees.

Provided oversight and policies for responsible government travel and relocation- $20B annual temporary travel spend - 6.4M+ federal trips, $1.3B in relocation expenses across 32K relocations; implemented policy reforms to avoid government spending by $ 3B+ in the next five fiscal years.

Implemented the current methodology to develop and publish annual Government’s “Per Diem” rates for hotels & meals, generating $300M in governmentwide yearly cost avoidance.

Deployed the Vehicle Allocation Methodology tool, achieving government-wide financial stewardship through $143M+ in cost savings and innovation initiatives; reduced petroleum consumption by 9.5% and increased alternative fuel used by 38.8%.

Collaborated with the broadband communication industry and federal, state, and local governments to implement the MOBILE NOW Act to provide faster and more extensive broadband communication coverage that empowers more Americans to use technologies in rural areas.

Managed the development of state-of-the-art governmentwide data collection platforms and data analytics and published public-facing interactive dashboards across all nine policy areas.

Promoted federal, state, local, foreign, tribal, and private-public partnerships to eliminate barriers to building equity and inclusiveness and strengthen Nation-to-Nation relationships.

Collaboratively partnered frequently and developed relationships and trust with Congressional staff, White House policy representatives, GSA offices, GAO, OIG, Oversight Community, private industry groups, political action groups, union leadership, and executive agency senior leaders to brainstorm Federal Management and Travel Regulations requirements and interpretations. Executive Director of Federal Real Property Council (FRPC) Appointed as the Executive Director of the Federal Real Property Council (FRPC) per the Federal Property Management Reform Act (P.L. 114-318) to promote the efficient and economical use of America’s real property assets and to assure management accountability for implementing federal real property reforms. Administering the Federal Real Property Profile (FRPP) as Executive Order 13327 on Federal Real Property Asset Management requires maintaining a central repository of all federally owned and leased properties. Key Achievements

In collaboration with the administration's leadership, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the President’s Management Council (PMC), and 55 executive agencies have developed short, medium, and long–term priorities for the Council.

Implemented policies & guidance for efficient management and economical use of 861,000 buildings, structures, and 28 million acres worth $2.1T.

Issued a Governmentwide Post-COVID-19 Real Property National Strategy, Federal Real Property Data Quality Improvement Program, and Capital Planning Guidance.

Reduced 60M sq. ft. of federal real property inventory with a cost avoidance of $743M from FY 2014 to 2021 through the implementation of the National Federal Real Property Strategy and Reduce the Footprint Policy; expected to reduce an additional 54M sq. ft. in the next five years with an aggregate cost avoidance exceeding $500M.

Partnered with the White House Domestic Policy Council, President’s Office of Management and Budget, Council on Environmental Quality, and Environmental Justice Advisory Council to develop and implement the guiding principles of Executive Order 14057 on catalyzing American clean energy industries and jobs through Federal sustainability and provisions of Executive Order 14091 on further advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the Federal Government. Alexander J. Kurien

4

Bureau of Overseas Building Operations U.S. Department of State 1998 to 2014 Led Strategic Planning for the U.S. Government’s real estate portfolio, comprising 324 locations across 180 countries, and managed 17 international programs. Applied a business-like approach to policy and program management, international property negotiations, and agreements, developed budgets defendable against fiscal realities, and implemented policies and procedures in alignment with U.S. Government foreign policies. Director of the Office of Strategic Planning

Managed the Strategic Long Range Planning processes regarding Real Estate Asset Management for the U.S. Department of State and designed comprehensive programs to improve accountability and financial transparency through policy guidance on open government initiatives. Administered the department’s Real Property Application database containing records for the State Department’s portfolio of $125B plus. Served as the point of contact and negotiator for U.S. and foreign entities & businesses to address real property, space utilization, and allocation issues.

Key Achievements

Developed the department’s database of 22K properties totaling 86M gross sq. ft. of building area and 6K acres of land area, with a plant replacement value (PRV) of $125B.

Published the department’s long-range plan representing $14.4B in building & maintenance planning.

Managed $2.2B in Capital Security Cost-Sharing (CSCS) & Maintenance Cost-Sharing (MCS) programs.

Published the department’s inaugural major rehabilitation 6-year plan totaling $1.8B in the MCS fund.

Launched the department’s top 80 security construction priority list and the 6-year plan totaling $8.4B.

Developed and managed the Presidentially mandated “Cost Savings and Innovation Plan” for the State that exceeded the target by more than $325 million in cost savings over three years.

Sold over $1B in excess properties through identifying excess and underutilized properties.

Partnered with 55 plus U.S. government agencies, State bureaus, and other stakeholders to collect requirements, plan, design, and construct diplomatic facilities overseas.

Formulated holistic master plan and project requirements for constructing the three largest U.S. Embassies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, in addition to 135 newly opened embassies and consulates in five continents with 80 new projects in planning.

Negotiated approval from OMB and agencies to raise $450M annually through the MCS program.

Launched the inaugural $3.4B 6-year Rehabilitation Program for facilities maintenance needs.

Developed and defended the annual office operational budget of $17M, the $5.25B in construction, rehabilitation, and facilities operation and maintenance, and the $500M in leasehold account.

Consulted, negotiated, bought, sold, exchanged, and consulted on over $15B of real property overseas in five continents and over 147 countries.

Participated in the U.S. bilateral real property negotiations in Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, United Arab Emirates, Greece, Georgia, India, Iraq, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Kenya, Beirut, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Taiwan, Tunisia, Malawi, Uganda, Turkey, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.

The U.S. government saved $425M through no-cost bilateral negotiations and the acquisition of the 104-acre new embassy compound in Baghdad, Iraq.

Acquisition of the use right (including the ability to transfer) of a 16-acre site in Taipei for $10.5M, while the estimated MV is $170M (94% savings).

Negotiated the asking price of $79M for a 10-acre Mumbai site down to $16.5M (79% savings).

Reduced the acquisition cost for an 11-acre Tashkent NEC site from $6.5M to $1.35M (79% savings).

Negotiated the price for a 20-acre site in Tbilisi, Georgia, from $24.3M to $13.4M (45% savings).

Lowered the purchase price for a 6-acre site in Phnom Penh from $12M to $6.75M (44% savings).

Reduced the asking annual rent on a 6-acre site in Jerusalem from $2.2M to $1.6M (28% savings) and negotiated the purchase option for a 17-acre site for the future U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem for $75M. Alexander J. Kurien

5

Spent 18 months in Afghanistan 2001-2006 and 15 months in Iraq in 2003-2004 for planning a comprehensive real property strategy for the U.S. government diplomatic presence in Afghanistan and Iraq and managed the facilities transition from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the U.S. Embassy.

Developed an efficient master plan for the 280-acre Republican palace in Baghdad and the multi-acre compounds in Basrah, Mosul, Erbil, and Kirkuk for U.S. government operation.

Negotiated tactical and operational plans for transportation logistics to and from Kuwait to the Green Zone and signed a Memorandum of Agreement for constructing the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Partnered with the U.S. Senior advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist the new Iraqi ministry with property-related issues, with particular emphasis on how the Interim Iraqi Government would develop the principles of reciprocity in the Vienna Convention for diplomatic missions opening in Iraq.

Played an integral role in the Iraqi Property Claim Commission (IPCC) to develop a Policy for mitigating property ownership claims by Iraqi Citizens for properties confiscated by the previous Regime.

Advised the Iraqi Ministry of Finance on establishing an open/free real estate market in Iraq.

Saved the U.S. government over $1.75B through negotiations and consulting. Education

Master of Business Administration (MBA) University of Tampa, Tampa, FL Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Religion and Business Hellenic College and Holy Cross, Brookline, MA Professional Development / Certifications

Completed 50+ courses in Leadership, Management, Strategic Planning, Negotiation, HR, DEIA, and Financial Management.

Fellow in the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS), London, United Kingdom (Inactive)

Member of the Appraisal Institute (MAI), Chicago, USA (Inactive) – Senior Asset Valuation Expert Honors and Awards

Received 36 plus distinguished awards for exemplary performance and accomplishments.

Received Outstanding Performance Rating – As a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES)

Government Transformation Award, General Service Administration (GSA)

Certificate of Recognition as an Outstanding Civil Servant – President Barak Obama

Gears of Government Award, General Service Administration (GSA)

Certificate of Appreciation, Federal Real Property Council (FRPC) – President George W. Bush

Excellence in Innovation Award – Federal Real Property Association (FRPA)

Excellence in Government Innovation Award – World Malayalee Association

Certificate of Appreciation for Serving in Iraq – Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense

Certificate of Appreciation for Serving in Iraq – Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, CPA Administrator

Resolution of space needs for Department of Defense – Ambassador Jeannine Jackson

Certificate of Appreciation for Serving in Iraq – Ambassador John Negroponte, U.S. Embassy Baghdad

Awards for Extraordinary Contribution in Iraq and Afghanistan – Four U.S. Army Generals

2022 Lifetime Achievement Award – World Malayalee Council of the Americas

2023 Diplomat of the Year Award, Global Indian Association

Contact this candidate