Stephen Heath

Stephen Heath serves as Chief, Policy at the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), where he leads the development and implementation of procurement policies that align with the agency’s mission to secure the defense industrial base through personnel vetting and cybersecurity support. In this role, he oversees the strategic framing of acquisition requirements for critical services related to background investigations, system security design, and management consulting, ensuring compliance with federal contracting regulations and national security standards. His work directly informs the agency’s contracting strategy, shaping solicitations that prioritize operational integrity, data protection, and workforce clearance efficiency. Mr. Heath maintains established relationships with a core group of contractors including SWISH DATA CORPORATION, AMD INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES LLC, SPATHE SYSTEMS LLC, ROCKWOOD COMPANY LLC, and IDEMIA IDENTITY & SECURITY USA LLC. These partnerships reflect a preference for vendors with proven expertise in secure identity management, digital infrastructure modernization, and defense-oriented investigative services. His contracting approach emphasizes performance-based outcomes, requiring contractors to demonstrate technical proficiency in handling classified environments and adhering to NIST and DOD cybersecurity frameworks. His procurement portfolio is overwhelmingly dominated by open competitions, with 85.7% of acquisitions issued without set-aside restrictions, reflecting a focus on technical capability over socioeconomic categorization. However, he consistently allocates 14.3% of opportunities to total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5, indicating a measured but intentional commitment to small business participation within the constraints of mission-critical requirements. The primary NAICS categories under his purview are 561611 for investigation and personal background check services, 541512 for computer systems design, and 541618/541611 for management consulting. These reflect DCSA’s emphasis on modernizing vetting workflows, securing digital access systems, and optimizing administrative processes to support national defense readiness.