DISA names new Joint Enterprise Services Directorate senior executive

By Dillon McConnell
Office of Strategic Communication and Public Affairs
September 19, 2022 

On Aug. 29, the Defense Information Systems Agency appointed Caroline Bean to the Senior Executive Service at DISA Headquarters at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.  

Bean is the latest senior executive to lead DISA’s Joint Enterprise Services Directorate, whose portfolios encompass most of DISA’s customer-facing service offerings, including Department of Defense enterprise services and unified capabilities, business systems, mobility, and warfighting command and control capabilities.

 

Starting her DISA career in 2002 as a student intern at DISA’s System Support Office in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Bean realized early on that DISA was a great fit.

“I heard about DISA as a junior attending Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania,” Bean said. “There was a job opening for a co-op student to program a software factory website, and I thought it would be an amazing opportunity. After that two-year assignment, I was fortunate to get into DISA’s three-year intern program at Net-Centric Enterprise Services after graduation and receiving my bachelor’s degree in computer science.”

Bean quickly rose through the DISA ranks, holding a variety of program management roles focused on the development and sustainment of mission-critical enterprise services and the adoption of cloud-based solutions.

In her previous role, she was the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions Program director, where she effectively oversaw the integration and deployment of cloud-based enterprise software solutions for DOD, including DISA’s enterprise software as a service collaboration suite DOD365-Joint, which serves more than 100 defense agencies and DOD field activities and combatant commands.

Most recently, Bean served as DISA’s Joint Enterprise Services Directorate executive in an acting capacity prior to permanently assuming the executive role and being promoted to the Senior Executive Service. Her directorate is one of four in the Digital Capabilities and Security Center headed by Director Jason Martin.

“During her tenure, she has done a fantastic job of coalition building with a significant focus on delivery,” says Martin. “She has continually prioritized evolving current capabilities to meet future mission needs of warfighters.”

Martin continues, “I don’t think there is anyone more deserving of this opportunity than Caroline. Starting as an intern to making SES is quite the accomplishment. As a co-worker of Caroline’s for more than 10 years, it has been amazing to watch her learn and grow within and across DISA. After 20 years of service to DISA, I look forward to her continued service and working with her in her new role.”

Bean understands that she did not get to where she is alone. She recognizes her achievement of Senior Executive Service is in part due to great leaders she has had as mentors and champions that noticed and provided the opportunities for her to grow in various roles.  

“Reaching SES doesn’t change how I lead or my passion for being the best combat support agency for the department,” says Bean. “I still expect to get my hands dirty and continue serving our customers (the warfighter) so I can make their job and supporting their mission easier.”

Bean looks forward to helping shape the future of DISA’s Joint Enterprise Services Directorate and hopes her career journey can influence other young professionals.

“I’m excited to join my peers in creating positive outcomes and contributing to defining DISA’s future,” she says. “I hope that my story motivates interns, students and new employees who have recently joined DISA — and even those more seasoned employees — to never stop expanding and stretching your career beyond what you might even think for yourself.”