Mark Borkowski, chief acquisition officer and assistant commissioner of the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection, will retire on June 30 after more than four decades of federal service, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.
In an email to CBP personnel, he recalled the establishment of the acquisition office 13 years ago, including the development of governance structures and acquisition competencies.
“I have been thinking about retiring for the last several years — but the volatility we have been experiencing (most notably, the COVID pandemic), made me think it was better to stick around for the sake of stability. Now that we are coming to post-pandemic equilibrium, this is a good time for me to leave,” Borkowski wrote in the email obtained by FNN.
Borkowski has led the office of acquisition at CBP since June 2016. Prior to this role, he was assistant commissioner for the office of technology innovation and acquisition. He also served as executive director of the Secure Border Initiative and head of mission support at headquarters for CBP’s Border Patrol.
Prior to CBP, he held the positions of program executive for the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program at NASA’s exploration systems mission directorate and coordinator for the space agency’s Exploration Transportation Strategic Roadmap.
Borkowski is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who served for more than two decades within the service branch.