Ann Lacks

Ann Lacks serves as a primary procurement lead within the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, responsible for managing the acquisition of critical aviation components and subsystems essential to the readiness and sustainment of U.S. military aircraft systems. She oversees the end-to-end contracting lifecycle for high-reliability parts, including propulsion units, auxiliary equipment, and precision-fabricated metal components, ensuring timely delivery to support operational mission requirements. Her role is central to DLA Aviation’s mission of maintaining supply chain resilience, mitigating technical obsolescence, and enabling rapid logistics response across the aerospace defense ecosystem. Lacks cultivates strategic partnerships with a diverse base of manufacturers specializing in aerospace-grade fabrication and propulsion systems. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages with mid-tier and niche suppliers capable of meeting stringent military specifications for durability, traceability, and quality control. Her contracting approach emphasizes technical compliance, performance-based requirements, and long-term supplier reliability over volume-based sourcing, fostering collaborative relationships with vendors who can adapt to evolving aircraft platform needs. She maintains a strong commitment to small business participation, with 20% of her acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, reflecting a deliberate effort to broaden the industrial base and encourage innovation from non-traditional defense suppliers. Although the majority of her contracts remain open to all competitors, her consistent use of small business set-asides demonstrates a balanced approach to competition and socioeconomic goals. Her procurement focus is concentrated in NAICS 332216 (saw blade and handtool manufacturing), 332999 (miscellaneous fabricated metal products), 336413 (other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment), and 336415 (guided missile and space vehicle propulsion unit parts). This specialization underscores her expertise in sourcing precision-engineered, mission-critical components for avionics, flight control systems, and propulsion assemblies, requiring deep technical understanding of aerospace manufacturing standards and defense logistics protocols.