McGinn leaves GMU’s GovCon Center for new role at CSIS

After seven years leading the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting, Jerry McGinn has left to join the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He will become the first director of CSIS' new Center for the Industrial Base. The organization will expand on CSIS’ work pertaining to the defense industrial base and bring a focus on issues such as industrial base challenges, government contracting trends, industry-government collaboration and international collaboration.

McGinn will continue to teach courses at George Mason University, where he led the establishment of the Baroni center in 2018.

At CSIS, the Center for the Industrial Base will fall under the organization’s defense and security department.

“Jerry is one of the nation’s top experts at a time when the industrial base is among the most pressing issues for the United States,” Dr. Seth G. Jones, president of CSIS' Defense and Security Department, said in a release Monday.

The U.S. defense industrial base challenges intersect with several pressing issues including the growing threat of conflict in the Indo-Pacific region and a contested logistics environment. The industrial base is also facing the re-emergence of other recurring events, such as the focus on conflict in the Middle East and trade-offs of exquisite systems versus easily reproducible ones.

“I look forward to working closely with my colleagues and our government and industry partners to address the significant industrial base challenges facing our nation and our allies today,” McGinn said.

McGinn has overseen the publication of approximately 80 reports, white papers and commentaries on government contracting, international cooperation, budget reform and intellectual property.

Before GMU, he served at the Defense Department across multiple administrations and is a former principal deputy director for DOD's Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy.

His experience in the defense industry includes roles at Northrop Grumman, Deloitte, QinetiQ North America and Software AG Government Solutions.