Sam Gordy

General Manager, IBM Federal and Industries, IBM

After three decades working as a private-sector leader on national security projects, Gordy says he sees a “seismic shift” happening now in federal IT, as agencies try to make sense of cloud technologies, artificial intelligence and other developments. In that environment, federal agencies — and the companies that serve them — have a responsibility to identify “top-level talent,” he says, while striving for diversity in recruitment and retention. “And diversity should include diverse industries,” he says. “For example, because so much knowledge and innovation comes from the commercial sector, it’s wise to look for top talent in industries such as banking, distribution, healthcare, life sciences and transportation.”