Jerry McGinn, Executive Director of the Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University’s School of Business

Jerry McGinn serves as the current executive director of the Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University’s School of Business.

Since taking on the role in June 2018, McGinn has led what is now recognized as a research, education and training hub dedicated to helping the government, industry and academia tackle government contracting issues.  

A GovCon Expert, McGinn is an executive with more than 28 years of experience, having worked for defense industry, government, think tanks and the military, with emphasis on defense acquisition and industrial base policy, corporate mergers and acquisitions, supply chain integration and defense strategy, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Concurrently, he serves as the president of McGinn Defense Consulting, helping aerospace and defense and government services companies address strategy and policy issues. McGinn offers expertise on critical issues across the national security marketplace, including defense security cooperation regulations and policies, market entry strategies into the defense market and advanced manufacturing partnerships.  

He is also a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Economic Security Subcommittee. 

Prior to assuming his current position, McGinn helped transform the DoD’s approach to and analysis of the defense industrial base. During his three-year tenure at the department, he served as acting deputy assistant secretary and principal deputy director of manufacturing and industrial base. His positions at the DoD put him in charge of a five-year, $700M budget, defense-related M&A and transactions, assessments of critical industry sectors and manufacturing programs.  

McGinn remains involved with DoD matters like the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, albeit in an analyst role. In a March appearance, McGinn said the CMMC does not only concern the DoD, as it impacts companies and individuals as well, according to an article published in GovConWire.  

“Cybersecurity is imperative for all individuals and companies, regardless of whether you are doing business with DoD,” he said.

Previously, he also worked for Deloitte as a specialist leader and for QineticQ North America's Technology Solutions Group as vice president for strategic initiatives.  

McGinn earned his bachelor’s degree in modern European history at the U.S. Military Academy at Westpoint. He also attended Georgetown University, where he completed his master’s degree in foreign service and history and a doctorate in history.  

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