Derrick L. Heard is the Deputy Director for the Office of Acquisition & Grants Management (OAGM) and Chief Grants Management Officer (CGMO) within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As the Deputy Director and CGMO, he is responsible for working collaboratively with the Director of OAGM to award and administer all CMS contracts and discretionary grants that are subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation and established grant guidelines. His role involves planning, organizing, coordinating, and managing all activities required to support the CMS mission requirements and maintain an agency-wide acquisition program-totaling $7- 9 billion annually.

Mr. Heard has 31 years of experience in Federal Government procurement and has worked at CMS for almost 20 of those years. He previously served as the Director of the Information Technology Contracts Group (ITCG) within OAGM and as a Division Director within OAGM that provided CMS with procurement support for IT services. Before joining CMS, Mr. Heard served as a Contracting Officer for the Internal Revenue Service and was an intern in procurement and acquisition for the Department of the Army at the Pentagon.

Mr. Heard holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Webster University and an undergraduate degree in Business from the University of Maryland University College. He also completed the Department of the Army's Contracting and Acquisition Civilian Career Intern Program, received the designation of Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM) from the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), completed the Grants Management Certification Program (GMCP), and completed the Federal Executive Institute's Leadership for a Democratic Society Program.