Defence Materiel Organisation head Warren King to step down this week
The head of Defence's massive procurement agency, the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO), will step down this week.
Warren King will take up another role for a short period of time, then retire, the ABC has been told.
His replacement, at least in the short term, will be the DMO's deputy chief executive Harry Dunstall.
The DMO procures everything from pencils to submarines for the Australian Defence Force, and has control over a budget of almost $13 billion a year.
Defence has been contacted for comment about the reason behind Mr King's resignation, but in 2012 he gave an interview in which he disclosed that he suffered from an extremely rare medical condition called capillary leak syndrome.
At the time he said the serious illness had inspired him to drive the DMO to greater efficiencies.
"If the hospital is going to keep me alive then the least I can do is put something back," he said.
"I want to leave a legacy of the DMO doing well."
Mr King's ultimate successor will preside over the organisation at a significant time for Defence procurement.
As well as the oft-discussed future submarine program, there are a number of other high profile projects to handle, including the Joint Strike Fighter and the troubled Air Warfare Destroyer program.
Earlier this week, Defence added a satellite communications program to the Projects of Concern list, admitting the project was running at least five years late.
"Adding this project to the Projects of Concern list was the most appropriate option for addressing the significant schedule, technical and cost challenges facing the project," Mr Dunstall said in a statement.
"The Projects of Concern process has delivered proven results with the remediation of 14 troubled projects with a combined value of more than $14.7 billion.
"The DMO looks forward to working together with our industry partner, BAE Systems, to get this project back on track to deliver this important capability to the Australian Defence Force."
