J. Zinser was sworn in as the fifth Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Commerce on December 26, 2007.

As Inspector General, Mr. Zinser leads a team of auditors, evaluators, investigators, attorneys, and support staff responsible for improving the Department’s vast array of business, scientific, economic, and environmental programs and operations.

For FY 2012, Mr. Zinser has identified five top management challenges facing the Department: 1) effectively promote exports, stimulate economic growth, and create jobs; 2) reduce costs and improve operations to optimize resources for a decade of constrained budgets; 3) strengthen Department-wide information security to protect critical information systems and data; 4) manage acquisition and contract operations more effectively to obtain quality goods and services in a manner most beneficial to taxpayers; and 5) manage the development and acquisition of NOAA’s environmental satellite systems to avoid launch delays and coverage gaps.