Stephen John Gumley, AO

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

 (born 26 October 1956) was the first Chief Executive Officer

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 of the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation

Defence Materiel Organisation

The Defence Materiel Organisation is the Australian Government agency responsible for the acquisition, through-life support and disposal of equipment for the Australian Defence Force...

, serving in the role from February 2004 to July 2011.

Education

Stephen Gumley obtained a Bachelor of Engineering

Bachelor of Engineering

The Bachelor of Engineering is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at universities in Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland , Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Korea,...

 with First Class Honours from the University of Tasmania

University of Tasmania

The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...

 in 1978 and was elected as a Rhodes scholar

Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...

 in 1979. He was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 from St Catherine's College

St Catherine's College, Oxford

St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...

, Oxford University in 1982 and an MBA

Master of Business Administration

The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...

 from the University of Tasmania in 1994. He is a Fellow

Fellow

A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...

 of The Institution of Engineers Australia

Engineers Australia

The Institution of Engineers Australia, often shortened to IEAust and trading as Engineers Australia, is a professional body and not-for-profit organisation dedicated to being the national forum for the advancement of the engineering field within Australia...

 and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

Australian Institute of Company Directors

The Australian Institute of Company Directors is Australia's leading membership body for directors in Australia and the leading Australian not-for-profit corporate governance organisation....

.

Early career

Gumley was previously CEO of the Australian Submarine Corporation

Australian Submarine Corporation

The ASC, formerly Australian Submarine Corporation, is a wholly government-owned Australian naval defence company headquartered at Osborne in Adelaide, South Australia.-History:...

 (200 2–2004), Vice President

Vice president

A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

 at Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

 in Seattle (1999–2001), CEO of aviation software supplier The Preston Group (1998–1999) and CEO of the entrepreneurial Global Lightning Technologies Group (1993–1997).

Appointment

In February 2004, Gumley was appointed the inaugural CEO of the Defence Materiel Organisation

Defence Materiel Organisation

The Defence Materiel Organisation is the Australian Government agency responsible for the acquisition, through-life support and disposal of equipment for the Australian Defence Force...

 (DMO). He guided the organisation in its transition to an Australian Government Prescribed Agency on 1 July 2005. In May 2008, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, Greg Combet

Greg Combet

Gregory Ivan Combet AM MP is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions between 2000 and 2007...

 announced an extension to Gumley's tenure, stating that his reappointment reflected a strong belief within the incoming Government that Gumley had been largely responsible for a significant improvement in the handling of Defence projects.

Reforms

Following his appointment, Gumley immediately implemented six reform themes under the slogan "change is goodness". The six themes were:

• Professionalisation of the DMO workforce,
• Reprioritisation of work,
• Standardisation of business practices,
• Benchmarking against better practice,
• Improving relationships with Defence industry, and
• Leading reform.

DMO Achievements

Under Gumley's leadership DMO successfully provided a range of new and leading-edge equipment for the Australian Defence Force. Significant reforms were also underway to tackle Australia's national skills shortages in the defence sector including an internal program of professionalisation and an ambitious external program entitled Skilling Australia's Defence Industry.

An assessment of a large number of projects in May 2008 by DMO found that the average cost of DMO projects compared to their budget indicated that projects were being delivered at 99.2% of their budgeted cost. The Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon

Joel Fitzgibbon

Joel Andrew Fitzgibbon is an Australian politician and Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Hunter in New South Wales. From December 2007 to June 2009 he was the Minister for Defence in the Rudd Ministry...

 and The Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement, Greg Combet

Greg Combet

Gregory Ivan Combet AM MP is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions between 2000 and 2007...

, acknowledged the improvements Gumley had brought to the organisation.

Later Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) reviews of specific projects and capabilities were qualified in their assessment of the effectiveness of DMO reforms. For instance ANAO report 24 of 2009-10 of March 2010 identified "a range of ongoing issues which detracted from the effective procurement of explosive ordnance for the Australian Defence Force", that "there remains considerable scope for improvement in the management of explosive ordnance", and that it was too early to confirm whether proposed reforms would provide enduring improvement to Defence and the DMO's management of the procurement and sustainment of explosive ordnance. http://www.anao.gov.au/Publications/Audit-Reports/2009-2010/Procurement-of-Explosive-Ordnance-for-the-Australian-Defence-Force/Audit-brochure.

The findings of ANAO Report 37 of May 2010 into the Lightweight Torpedo Project included that - for that project - "project management and planning was inadequate, and in some instances key project documents were either not developed, or were not developed on a timely basis", and that "the planning of testing and acceptance and the resolution of testing and acceptance issues for Joint Project 2070 by the DMO has been inadequate." This report further stated that "this project demonstrates that, in respect of Defence major capital equipment acquisition projects, it remains the case that further enhancement of these monitoring and reporting mechanisms is required to properly inform decision making by both Defence and Government."http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Uploads/Documents/2009%2010_audit_report_37.pdf

Ministerial statements in 2010 and 2011 suggested that the Government believed new procurement reforms were needed. On 26 November 2010 the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith (Australian politician)

Stephen Smith (Australian politician)

Stephen Francis Smith , is the Australian Minister for Defence. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1993, representing the Division of Perth, Western Australia....

 in adding project AIR 5418 Joint Air to Surface Stand-off Missile (JASSM) to the 'Projects of Concern' list, stated that the listing was because of "our poor management, our failure to keep Government properly and fully informed about the project and it's difficulties." Minister Smith also said that he had asked Defence to review the effectiveness of its management of major projects. http://www.defence.gov.au/minister/108tpl.cfm?CurrentId=11132. On 6 May 2011 Minister Smith announced further Defence procurement reforms aimed at improving project management, minimising risk at project start and identifying problems early http://www.defence.gov.au/minister/Smithtpl.cfm?CurrentId=11766 and on 29 June 2011 Minister Smith announced reforms to the management of 'Projects of Concern' including the development of formal remediation plans for designated projects. http://www.defence.gov.au/minister/SmithSpeechtpl.cfm?CurrentId=12042

Combat clothing

Under Gumley's leadership a comprehensive reform of combat clothing for the Australian Defence Force was implemented. Key outcomes of the independent 2007 review included ensuring that deployed Australian troops receive high quality clothing and personal equipment, and the release of a five-year forecast of procurement opportunities in the sector Clothing and Personal Equipment Procurement Plan to provide industry with sufficient guidance to enable broad business planning.

In an interview with The Age newspaper 5 July 2006, precipitating the 2007 review, Gumley admitted endemic problems within the DMO.

The provision of clothing and equipment to Australia's front-line troops has been plagued by "stuff-ups", one of the nation's most senior defence officials has admitted. In an extraordinarily candid briefing, the official stated that troops serving overseas had "missed out" on gear they should have received, and that the body responsible for equipping them, the Defence Materiel Organisation, had engaged in "inappropriate behaviours".

"We are going to let the troops down if we don't improve the reliability, quality and safety of our equipment," said Stephen Gumley, head of the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO).

The Age has obtained a secret recording of Gumley's briefing, during which he also told industry suppliers: "Frankly, I did not do a good enough job in this area (soldier's clothing and equipment) so we failed in that and I am going to fix it … what has happened has been a big wake-up call for me. Like someone has chucked a big cold bucket of water over my face."

Wikileaks

In December 2010, a confidential cable released by Wikileaks

Wikileaks

WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...

 to Fairfax Media

Fairfax Media

Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...

 under the heading "fuzzy math

Fuzzy math (politics)

Fuzzy math is a catch phrase used often by politicians to describe numbers, particularly in regards to government spending, that they claim do not add up correctly...

 on costs" described a discussion Gumley and a US naval officer after the release of Australia's May 2009 Defence white paper. The cable expressed doubts about Australia to adequately fund its proposed military expenditure and said that "Gumley was unable to explain how the costing for the equipment of the white paper came about."

Resignation

On 7 July 2011 the Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith, announced that Gumley had retired, with immediate effect. The Opposition's defence spokesman Senator David Johnston speculated whether Gumley had resigned of his own volition or was "pushed".

Recognition and awards

In 2006, Gumley was named by The Institution of Engineers Australia

Engineers Australia

The Institution of Engineers Australia, often shortened to IEAust and trading as Engineers Australia, is a professional body and not-for-profit organisation dedicated to being the national forum for the advancement of the engineering field within Australia...

 as one of the 100 most influential engineer

Engineer

An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

s in Australia. In 2010, Gumley was made an Officer of the Order of Australia

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

for "service to public sector management, particularly through leadership of the Defence Materiel Organisation, and the development and implementation of significant reforms in procurement and sustainment of military equipment."

Primary sources

1. Gumley an "outstanding choice" to lead the DMO Press release, 30 Jan 2004
2. DMO Schedule and Budget Performance: 13 March 07
3. Speech transcripts and supporting slide presentations by Dr Gumley

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/defence-materiel-organisation-chied-steve-gumley-quits/story-e6frg8yo-1226089635356

External links

• Official DMO webpage
• Australian Defence Organisation - Leaders
• Engineers Australia Top 100 Influential Engineers
• http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/defence-stuffups-hit-troops/2006/07/04/1151778937175.html