In January 2021, Mr. Christopher Parker was appointed as the Associate Executive Director of the Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and in October 2022 was appointed as Acting AED of the National Acquisition Center (NAC). As Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA) he is responsible for providing strategic guidance and oversight to a multi-disciplined organization of nearly 700 acquisition professionals and support staff. Under his leadership, the SAC & NAC provide acquisition and logistics solutions that directly expand access and quality of healthcare and services provided to Veterans and their families. The SAC/NAC team award and administer contracts across all VA national programs including Community Care Network, national pharmaceutical and prime vendor, Telehealth, prosthetics, medical equipment, and enterprise supply and service contracts impacting every phase of the Veteran lifecycle for healthcare and benefits. The overall value of the combined NAC & SAC acquisition portfolio exceeds $360B in addition to managing nine medical Federal Supply Schedules and $1B/year national direct-to-Veteran and direct-to-VA healthcare facility order fulfilment operations. Prior to joining VA, he served in the U.S. Navy as a Supply Corps Officer, retiring as a Captain with 30 years of service. He was the Director of Contracting for the Navy’s Office of Special Projects, where he supported many of the Navy’s highest priority programs. He also served as the Division Chief for Strategy and Readiness on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, where he developed joint plans and logistics doctrine in support of the National Defense Strategy. Mr. Parker was selected to serve as the Commanding Officer for the Fleet Logistics Center for Europe and Africa, with 600 personnel across 10 operating sites. He oversaw the development and award of theater logistics contracts to support ongoing fleet and expeditionary units; coordinated emergent ship repairs; provided safe refuelling and logistics capabilities at multiple aviation sites; and established deployable logistics teams to support operations in austere environments across two continents. Prior to command, he served as Director of Contracting for Naval Supply Systems Command, where he led a global workforce of over 800 personnel in supporting acquisition of weapons system support, theater logistics, and led Navy-wide efforts that re-engineered and implemented new global ship port visit and voyage repair processes. He was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (3 awards), Meritorious Service Medal (3 awards) and various other individual, unit and campaign awards.