John G. (Jerry) McGinn

Dr. Jerry McGinn is the Executive Director of the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting in George Mason University’s Costello College of Business. In this role, he has established and is leading the first-of-its-kind university center to address the business, policy, and regulatory issues facing the $700B+ government contracting community. He is one of the nation’s leading experts on industrial base and acquisition policy issues and the Center has published over 80 influential reports and white papers on issues such as defense innovation, government contracting, intellectual property, budget reform, industrial resilience, collaboration with allies and partners, and COVID-19.

Jerry is also a trusted strategic advisor and board member sought after for his expertise in U.S. industrial policy, security cooperation, supply chain, industrial security, export control, foreign military sales, and industrial base policies. Prior to joining GMU, Jerry served as the senior career official in the Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy in the Department of Defense, leading efforts to analyze the capabilities and overall health of the defense industrial base, including the 2017-2018 interagency review of the manufacturing and defense industrial base. He also directed hundreds of reviews of high-profile mergers and acquisitions as well as transactions before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. He additionally led eight manufacturing innovation institutes focused on building capacity in advanced manufacturing areas such as 3D printing, microelectronics, and robotics.

Previous to DoD, Dr. McGinn spent a decade in senior defense industry roles at Deloitte Consulting LLP, QinetiQ North America, and Northrop Grumman. Before industry, Dr. McGinn served in DoD as Special Assistant to the Principal Deputy Undersecretary (Policy) and as a political scientist at RAND.

Dr. McGinn is also a widely acclaimed thought leader and sought-after speaker. He has published influential George Mason reports and white papers, RAND monographs, and articles in The Hill, Business Insider, Defense News, Defense One, and other outlets. He has also testified before the U.S. Congress and the UK House of Commons and he has participated in advisory studies for the Homeland Security Advisory Council, the NATO Industrial Advisory Group, and the Defense Science Board.

Dr. McGinn was commissioned into the U.S. Army and served with distinction as an infantry officer and is a graduate of Ranger and Airborne Schools. He has received numerous civilian and military awards and has earned a Ph.D., M.S., and M.A. from Georgetown University as well as a B.S. from the United States Military Academy.

Media Clippings

• February 18, 2025 - Virginia Business
  HII’s CEO doesn’t expect major defense spending cuts under Trump