The Government Huddle with Brian Chidester

174: The One with the DoD Chief Experience Officer

Savanrith Kong, the First Chief Experience Officer for the United States Department of Defense joins the show to discuss why customer experience is critical in defense and national security. He also shares personal reflections on his leadership journey, insights from building the DoD's CX office from the ground up, and the strategic importance of storytelling, data-driven decisions, and user-centric design within large government organizations.

173: The One with the NobleReach Foundation CEO

Arun Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of NobleReach Foundation joins the show to discuss innovative approaches to integrating top talent from the private sector into public service. He shares his personal journey and parallels between his early aspirations to become a sports general manager and his professional experience as a venture capitalist and the critical importance of assembling the right team and resources. We also address the broader implications of current workforce events and technological advancements, such as AI and cybersecurity, and their impact on workforce dynamics within government. 

 

172: The One about AI Transforming Government Procurement

Akash Mandavilli, Co-founder of GovEagle joins the show to explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the government contracting process. He also shares insights into how AI can accelerate proposal development, improve accuracy, and help organizations navigate the evolving landscape of government acquisitions and he covers trends in AI adoption, strategies for winning contracts, and the balance between automation and relationship-building in procurement. 

Breaking the Huddle: Unpacking the Evolving Defense IT Landscape

Jon Baba, Senior Vice President of the Defense Markets at LMI joins the show to discuss the evolving defense landscape and how technology, strategy, and efficiency are converging to shape the future of national security. We also discuss the new administration's defense priorities, including homeland defense and deterrence in Asia the role of AI and emerging technologies in increasing military efficiency and readiness.

171: The One with the Former Deputy CIO of the Commonwealth of Virginia

Dan Wolf, former Deputy CIO of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Director of State Programs at the Alliance for Digital Innovation joins the show to unpack the evolving landscape of government modernization at the state and local levels. We also discuss the barriers to cloud adoption, how procurement reform can accelerate modernization, and the impact of accessibility mandates on state digital services and why compliance is driving cloud migration.

170: The One with the True Cost of Government Fraud Study

Amy Crawford, Director of Market Planning at LexisNexis Risk Solutions to discuss the increasing fraud in government benefits programs and reveal results from the latest True Cost of Fraud™ Study for SNAP Agencies & Integrated Eligibility Systems (IES). We also talk about the need for legacy service delivery modernization & early fraud detection PLUS what state and federal agencies can do today to fight fraud while optimizing efficiency and experience. 

169: The One with the SANS Institute Leader

Maxwell Shuftan, Director of Mission Programs at SANS Institute joins the show to discuss the state of the government cybersecurity workforce and methods for recruiting some of the best talent into the public sector. We also discuss training initiatives that can be a game-changing strategy to unlock a hidden workforce and the national security implications that these roles have on our country.

Breaking the Huddle: Navigating the DOGE Impact on your GovCon Business

Billy Biggs, President and Chief Revenue Officer at Technomile joins Breaking the Huddle to discuss research that his company just released to quantify the DOGE impact on vendors and some of the biggest challenges he sees for companies that are looking to pursue a public sector business in this environment.

Breaking the Huddle: Unlocking the Hidden Efficiencies in Government Programs

Tom McConnell, Practice Area Director for Business and Digital Transformation at LMI joins Breaking the Huddle to explore how LMI has evolved its role in supporting government agencies by unlocking efficiencies in government processes, enabling agencies to better engage stakeholders and optimize internal operations. We also discuss LMI’s "Magnify" approach—an extensible human-centered design framework—and the organization's forward-thinking vision for the future of government technology.

168: The One with the GitLab Federal CTO

Joel Krooswyk, Federal Chief Technology Officer at GitLab joins the show to discuss some of his predictions for the Federal government this year including his thoughts on the proliferation of Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs), AI in software development, and the renewed focus that agencies will place on cloud technology. We also discuss his thoughts on compliance as a strategic enabler and why DevSecOps will continue to grow in popularity.