Washington, D.C.  --  Thomas O'Keefe has been selected by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to complete the work of modernizing the federal government's antiquated retirement processing system.

OPM Director Linda M. Springer has asked O'Keefe to coordinate the Retirement Systems Modernization (RSM) initiative, now at a critical juncture in the massive undertaking. In the coming months, the last of three contracts will be awarded - and then strategically managed - to build a paperless, cradle-to-grave retirement processing system.

Springer has made a commitment to Members of Congress, as well as to current and retired federal employees, to build a contemporary retirement processing system befitting those who make public service a career. She cited O'Keefe's 21 years of public- and private-sector experience in systems and management integration as factors in his selection.

"Tom has a proven track record in the areas of strategic planning, program management and IT asset management, and in merging these disciplines in the pursuit of a desired goal," said Springer. "The RSM Program has made significant progress in recent years. We will continue this forward progress as the convergence of three disciplines on which the RSM program is based creates a theater in which Tom has performed, achieved success and been recognized by his peers."

The three components of RSM are the Defined Benefits Technology Solution, Electronic Record Keeping, and Business Transformation.

O'Keefe has held a number of positions within the Federal Aviation Administration. Most recently, he served as the FAA's Director in the Office of Information Technology Optimization and Performance Tracking, where he established a performance tracking program that integrated multiple disciplines in the pursuit of e-Government initiatives. He also held leadership positions with the agency's Office of Information Systems Security, Office of the Chief Information Officer, and Telecommunications Engineering and Planning Division.

From 1980 to 1985, O'Keefe was a commissioned officer with the U.S. Navy. He has a master's degree in engineering management from the George Washington University. He earned a bachelor's degree, also in engineering, from the U.S. Naval Academy.