FedRAMP Has a New Director Amid Policy Update

The General Services Administration (GSA) has appointed Pete Waterman as director of the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) a month after federal officials called for scaling the program to accommodate the evolving cloud solutions landscape.

Waterman has extensive experience in private and public sector tech roles, including staff engineer with the U. S. Digital Service, senior technical advisor with GSA’s Technology Modernization Fund and CISO at the Office of Management and Budget.

“Pete is joining GSA from a broad background as an implementer and leader across private and public-sector technology roles, including a not-long-ago stint here at GSA supporting the Technology Modernization Fund,” said Eric Mill, executive director for cloud strategy at GSA’s Technology Transformation Services. “Pete is in a great position to build on the direction and momentum the FedRAMP team has this year, establish key relationships across the executive branch for the program and take FedRAMP into its next iteration.”

Mill noted FedRAMP’s significant growth in fiscal year 2024 that accelerated last month with the White House Office of Management and Budget’s memo to scale the program and encourage federal agencies to transition away from government-specific cloud infrastructure.

According to the agency’s job posting that has since been closed, Waterman is tasked with expanding the size and diversity of the FedRAMP marketplace and simplifying the FedRAMP process.

Mill said there have also been improvements in FedRAMP’s operational and technical capacity due to some of the agency’s recent new hires.

“All in all, it makes for a great environment to bring in a new leader to the program and to the community here at TTS,” said Mill. “I’m so glad FedRAMP will be in good hands, and I’m excited to work with Pete and the rest of the team on this transition.”