# Former DLA Aviation leader to head agency’s small business focus

/ Published Feb. 12, 2024
FORT BELVOIR, Va., 
Daniele Kurze is personally touched when she sees family-owned small businesses of 60-plus years shut their doors amid challenges like financial uncertainty and workforce retention. As the Defense Logistics Agency’s new executive director of Small Business Programs, she’ll now address those and other issues affecting small businesses.

“We have to do something different. With all the things going on around the world, we need America’s small businesses more now than ever,” she said.

Kurze’s position is a first for DLA and is designated as senior level, meaning it’s classified above a GS-15. She comes to DLA Headquarters from DLA Aviation, where she directed the Supplier Operations Commodities Directorate, oversaw a range of contracting methods, and developed internal procedures and policies to enhance opportunities for small businesses in the aviation sector.

“Interacting closely with family-owned enterprises, various small business types and industry associations, I gained valuable insights into their struggles. It fueled my passion for making a meaningful difference in their entrepreneurial journey,” Kurze said.

The need to strengthen the nation’s defense industrial base – particularly small businesses – is highlighted in the 2022 National Defense Strategy and the National Defense Industrial Strategy, which was released early this year and outlines priorities toward building a modern defense industrial ecosystem that enables the U.S. to face emerging threats.

Kurze said her new position underscores DLA’s dedication to fostering the growth, resilience and long-term success of small businesses in a steadily shrinking industrial base.

“For DLA, the question is: How do we expand our small business base, especially for those that have a niche in the areas where we support the military services?” she said. “And how do we support them from financial and workforce perspectives, partnering with other agencies that we share some of that manufacturing base with?”

She sees the new role as an opportunity to reshape agency interactions with the small business community and establish DLA as a trusted, proactive partner. Her initial plans include listening to employees, leaders and external partners to assess challenges and areas needing improvement as well as strengths the agency can build upon. From there, she’ll build a strategic vision to guide agency-wide efforts.

Some areas Kurze expects to focus on include ensuring small businesses have the resources and guidance needed to succeed in supporting Defense Department needs and streamlining processes to reduce bureaucratic barriers. She also plans to measure her team's impact by creating metrics to track program impacts, a move she said will ensure transparency and facilitate data-driven decision-making.

“I’m passionate about fostering an environment where innovation and creativity thrive, so I’ll be encouraging feedback and ideas from the team,” she said. “By working collaboratively, we can achieve not only the goals set aside for the program but also create a fulfilling and enriching experience for everyone involved.”