Laura Stanton, most recently in charge of GSA’s mammoth commercial e-commerce platform project, will be the new Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the IT Category.  She is essentially swapping places with Crystal Philcox who will assume Stanton’s former position as Assistant Commissioner for Strategy Management.  Stanton will have a very full plate as she will bring her e-commerce project with her, in addition to overseeing the implementation of the EIS telecom vehicle.  That contract is expected to start giving Authority to Operate (ATO) status to contractors in the next 30-60 days and business will quickly ramp up on it.  In the meantime, the commercial e-commerce project is expected to have an industry day and RFI issued soon, with a report to Congress due sometime in March.  GSA officials speaking at an industry event this week said they hope to have a “proof of concept” for the e-commerce project in place by the end of 2019.  Stanton is an experienced leader with an excellent industry outreach record.  She is also known for taking a strategic view of her projects and being a strong advocate for GSA’s acquisition mission.  Stanton has over 18 years of experience at GSA, including stints as Program Manager for the Common Acquisition Platform and Director of Innovation for the Federal Acquisition Service.  She also worked for six years as a telecom analyst with GSA.