Fort Belvoir –
Justin Carder, Chief Digital & AI Officer, is this year’s William B. Petty Special Achievement Award for Management Excellence recipient in recognition of his exceptional leadership. Justin established and led DCAA’s newest office, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), to success, all while earning positive feedback and recognition for his innovative leadership and his team’s significant achievements.
One of Justin’s most notable accomplishments is leading the successful delivery of the Enterprise Performance Information Center (EPIC) system, a modernized platform that revolutionizes contract audit processes, improves DCAA’s ability to track audit impact, and reduces manual processes. Over 3,500 users onboarded to EPIC ahead of schedule and Justin’s leadership ensured the CDAO team had what they needed to additionally transition 37,000 audits to the new platform and implement all 66 system requirements on time. These impressive results gained positive feedback, leading to Justin’s team spearheading many phased process improvements to further enhance effective audit management.
Beyond EPIC, his team spearheaded transformative data, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) strategies, setting clear guardrails to position DCAA for sustained success and innovation. Justin also managed DCAA’s Robotic Process Automation (RPA) program establishment, which improved accuracy, consistency and reduced administrative burdens across DCAA. His leadership is setting the foundation for strengthening interagency data sharing and integration, finding success in data sharing between tools such as the Audit Tracking and Action Tool, Contractor Submission Portal, and EPIC.
His impact also extends beyond DCAA. His expertise and knowledge proved invaluable when he developed a centralized reporting platform for information tracking across the DoD 4th Estate agencies. This work saved substantial resources and earned him the prestigious Office of Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence. In other initiatives, he led efforts to identify efficiencies and unprecedented savings across DoD, reinforcing DCAA’s role as a trusted partner in advancing the Department’s mission. Justin continues driving transformative change within DCAA and set a new standard for innovation and leadership in government operations. His work has enhanced DCAA’s visibility and reputation within the broader DoD community.
Justin emphasized the significance of the award to the DCAA CDAO, sharing,
“This award is meaningful because it represents what we’ve accomplished as a team. It’s a testament to the hard work, professionalism, and commitment to excellence demonstrated in the CDAO. Together, we’ve tackled challenges, found innovative solutions and worked tirelessly to advance our mission.”