Gary Washington

Inspirer
DISC Type : id

Cheif Innovation Officer at USDA

Washington DC-Baltimore Area, United States

Overview

Gary Washington is a veteran government IT executive, now serving as the Chief Innovation Officer at USDA. He previously served as the departments CIO, managing a $2. 8 billion IT portfolio and leading modernization efforts for 100, 000 users. He is a graduate of the USDA Graduate School and the Federal Executive Institute.

He is a veteran of the U. S. Air Force, where he served for ten years as a Computer Operator and Command Control Specialist before entering civilian government service.

Unique fact: For a brief period in 2025, he was appointed to serve as the Acting Secretary of Agriculture for the entire USDA.

Personality Overview

Charming & Persuasive

Decisive

Fast Adopter

They respond well to objective pitches but also attach some value to relationships.  They measure a product on its merit but can be influenced by strong testimonials. They don’t mind taking a stand if they believe in something.

Topics They Care About

IT Modernization
As USDA CIO, he led the charge to modernize the department's technology, consolidating data centers, driving cloud adoption, and improving customer experience across 29 agencies.
Federal IT Strategy
His career includes roles at the Office of Management and Budget, FDA, and APHIS, focusing on IT governance, portfolio management, and government-wide efficiency initiatives.
Customer Experience
He spearheaded the creation of AskUSDA, a unified contact center, and Farmers. gov, a consolidated digital portal, to improve service delivery for the public.

Media Appearances

Workforce Summit: USDA's Gary Washington Pt.1. Featured in YouTube

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Gary Washington - Chief Innovation Officer (CINO). Featured in U.S. Department of Agriculture

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USDA's Washington shifts to new kind of 'CIO' role. Featured in Federal News Network

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Work History

9-2025
Cheif Innovation Officer at USDA
1-2025 - 2-2025
Acting USDA Secretary at USDA
2-2018 - 9-2025
Chief Information Officer at USDA
9-2017 - 2-2018
Acting USDA Chief Information Officer at USDA OCIO
2-2013 - 9-2017
Chief Information Officer at USDA-APHIS

Education

2007 - 2009
Organization and Enterprise Architecture from USDA Graduate School Instrucutor
2004 - 2004
Leadership for a democratic society from Federal Executive Institute

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 42 Location : Washington DC-Baltimore Area, United States Job Level : N/A Designation : Cheif Innovation Officer at USDA
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Insights For Selling To Gary

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Keep your pitch focused on the impact but insert some anecdotes into it
  • Clearly address the competitive aspects
  • Get them to a point where they are ready to bat for your product internally

DONT's

  • Avoid focusing only on the product or its ROI, keep building trust subtly
  • Don’t keep repeating the same information, it could make them impatient
  • Don’t be very informal even if they are being so themselves

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Gary is

  • Product value plays a big role, followed by relationship and a sense of achievement.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Gary

  • If they do not firmly believe in you, they will refuse without hesitation.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Gary move?

  • If they develop confidence in your product and you, then they can make fast decisions.
  • Can Gary take some risk or not?

  • If necessary, they have the ability to take risky decisions.

You And Gary

Personality Compatibility


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