Keynote Remarks from Department of Veterans Affairs, Acquisitions

Christopher D. Parker
Deputy Principal Executive Director (DPED), Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction (OALC)
Deputy Chief Acquisitions Officer
US Department of Veterans Affairs
Biography

In August 2025 Mr. Parker was appointed DPED of OALC and VA’s Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer, where he is responsible for the management and oversight of over 17,000 acquisition and support personnel across VA’s portfolio of Acquisition, Logistics and Construction activities delivering care at 1255 facilities for over 9 million Veterans. He previously served as Associate Executive Director of the Strategic Acquisition Center (SAC) and the National Acquisition Center (NAC) as Head of the Contracting Activity (HCA), responsible for providing strategic guidance and oversight to a multi-disciplined organization of nearly 700 acquisition professionals and support staff and operationalized a contracts portfolio of over $400B. Under his leadership, the SAC & NAC provided acquisition and logistics solutions that expanded access and quality of healthcare and services provided to Veterans and their families. SAC/NAC awarded and administered 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. In addition, he oversaw nine medical Federal Supply Schedules and $1B/year national direct-to-Veteran and direct-to-VA healthcare facility order fulfilment operations and associated warehouse and logistics.

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HOSTED BY:

• Office of United States Senator Thom Tillis
• Office of United States Senator Ted Budd
• North Carolina Military Business Center
• North Carolina Biotechnology Center
• Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium

SYMPOSIUM PARTNERS.

• First Flight Venture Center
• UNC System
• North Carolina Center for Optimizing Military Performance (NC-COMP)
• Fort Bragg Research Institute, a program of The Geneva Foundation

WHEN.  September 24-25, 2025

WHERE.   University of North Carolina, The Friday Center, 100 Friday Center Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27517

SESSIONS INCLUDE. 

• Enabling the Warfighter: Operational Requirements for Tactical Medicine.  
• Business Opportunities with DoD and VA: Medical Supplies, Equipment and Devices. 
• Utilizing Wearables for Data-Driven Decisions.
• Technology Innovation Showcase. 
• Department of Veterans Affairs One-On-One Meetings. 
• Business Opportunities with DoD and VA: Medical Services and Staffing. 
• Forging the Future of Military Medicine: From Battlefield Concepts to Dual-Use Deployment. 
• Business Opportunities with DoD and VA: Pharmaceutical and Pharma Supply Chain. 
• Medical Research and Development: Opportunities to Connect with Warfighters and Veterans. 

​​​​ Register