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News | Jan. 21, 2025

Strategic focus, leadership development are hallmarks of Lally’s success

By Natalie Skelton DLA Aviation Public Affairs

Embracing new challenges and developing skills that help him lead others are two of the professional traits that Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at Oklahoma City’s Acquisition Support Division Chief Christopher Lally displays in his everyday work. These traits, along with his skillful management of a team that is ready to excel in even the most high-pressure situations, make Lally a deserved recipient of the Acquisition Excellence Individual Achievement award.

“My leadership style is rooted in adaptability, empathy and a focus on empowering others, which I believe makes it particularly effective in high-pressure situations,” Lally said. “I prioritize clear communication, ensuring that my team understands the objectives, expectations, and their roles in achieving success. This transparency fosters trust and allows the team to stay focused, even in challenging circumstances.”

During the award period, Lally led a team of 10 personnel, including seven contract officers and three contract specialists, supporting the spares purchases for 46 unique weapons systems, including the F-15, F-16, B-1, B-2 and KC-46 aircraft, as well as repairs for the B-1 and KC-46 aircraft. The team executed 263 individual contract awards valued at $279 million, a 121% increase in the number of purchase requests awarded and a 375% increase in total dollars awarded compared to the same period in the prior year.

Those challenging circumstances have included managing a significant increase in his team’s workload and complexity, which Lally said required strategic planning, efficient delegation and a focus on team development.

“By leveraging data from tracking tools I implemented, I redistributed tasks based on individual expertise, ensuring the most complex contracts were handled by experienced specialists, while junior staff gained valuable exposure to less complex actions under mentorship,” he said.

“This not only maintained quality, but it also supported skill development within the team.”

According to Lally’s nomination form, DLA Aviation Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Chad Ellsworth said, “Lally implemented a tracking system to streamline acquisition processes, reduce administrative lead time by 60 days for priced NSNs, and save an estimated 60 days per purchase request for approximately 1,000 national stock numbers. In April 2024, after being promoted to supervisor, Lally restructured the branch by identifying employee strengths and weaknesses, conducting training, and creating team-building activities.”

While his accomplishments are many, Lally said he is most proud of his team’s success and his ability to foster their growth and development.

“Seeing my team thrive even as our workload increased significantly in volume and complexity has been the most rewarding part of my career,” he said. “By mentoring and training new staff, restructuring workflows to align with individual strengths and creating a supportive environment, I was able to empower my team to meet and exceed performance goals consistently. Their success reflects our collective efforts and underscores the importance of strong leadership and collaboration.”

In this award period, Lally shared that he has learned the importance of adaptability and fostering a collaborative team environment.

“As workloads increased in complexity and volume, I realized that success hinges on leveraging the team’s strengths, empowering individuals, and streamlining processes to address challenges effectively,” he explained. “Additionally, I learned that innovation is not just about large-scale changes but also small, impactful improvements, such as implementing tools like tracking systems or refining performance metrics. These efforts can significantly enhance efficiency and team morale.”

The nomination form states that in August 2023, while attending the DLA Industry Partnership Management Course, Lally maintained his workload and ensured on-time contract awards. He also negotiated with Boeing to hold pricing for KC-46 monetary limitation order repairs for 90 days and increased the order submission limit from $250,000 to $1 million.

Moving forward, Lally said he plans to carry these lessons further into his career by continuing to focus on leadership that balances strategic thinking with empathy, and by creating a workplace culture that values continuous learning, adaptability and collaboration.

“These principles will guide me as I take on larger roles and more complex challenges in the future,” he said.

According to the nomination package, Lally was instrumental in reducing the average administrative lead time by 100 days, a 40% reduction from the previous year, and in training team members to handle a significant workload increase of 172% in purchase requests, valued at $2.17 billion. His leadership led to the branch awarding 74 contracts in September 2024 alone, totaling $80 million, a 525% increase from the same month in FY 2022.

Lally, also recognized as FY 2023’s Employee of the Year for DLA Aviation, said, “This recognition highlights my focus on collaboration and innovation. It acknowledges not only my individual contributions but also my efforts to build a strong, high-performing team capable of tackling challenges with resilience and precision.

“Ultimately, it inspires me to continue raising the bar and supporting organizational success at every level,” he said.