Red Hat’s Chris Smith Debuts on 2025 Wash100 Award List for Pioneering Open Source in Public Sector
Executive Mosaic is pleased to introduce Chris Smith, vice president and general manager of North American public sector at Red Hat, as a 2025 Wash100 Award recipient for his efforts in promoting the use of open-source software in the public sector.
Vote for Smith as your favorite GovCon leader as part of the 2025 Wash100 Popular Vote competition! Voting closes on April 30, so visit Wash100.com to cast your 10 votes today.
This is the first time Smith has received the Wash100 Award, a distinguished honor that recognizes the top executives in the GovCon industry. Established by Executive Mosaic, the award highlights individuals who have demonstrated excellence in leadership, innovation, reliability, and vision. Recipients are selected based on their contributions to the government contracting community and their ability to drive growth and innovation within their organizations.
Commenting on his win, Smith said, “What an incredible honor to be recognized alongside such an esteemed group of leaders in the public sector. Executive Mosaic’s commitment to celebrating those shaping the future of government is invaluable to our community, and I’m grateful to see Red Hat represented in this tradition. I’m truly humbled by this recognition and remain committed to driving innovation and impact in our industry.”
“Chris captured the Wash100 voting committee’s attention by bringing Red Hat’s open-source expertise deeper into government operations. With Red Hat securing FedRAMP High authorization and forging partnerships with the Army on open-source API development, Chris is helping drive innovation in critical areas with national impacts,” said Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic and founder of the Wash100 Award.
“His leadership in modernizing IT infrastructure for federal agencies — informed by nearly a decade and a half at IBM and a prior stint at Booz Allen Hamilton — make him a standout candidate for this year’s Wash100,” added Garrettson.
Extensive Career in Technology
With a career spanning over two decades, Smith has established himself as a visionary leader in the technology sector, particularly in driving the adoption of open-source technologies within government agencies.
Before joining Red Hat, Smith held various leadership positions in both the private and public sectors, where he focused on leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency and service delivery.
He was vice president for U.S. Federal at HCL Technologies from 2019 to 2022, focusing on federal market growth. His tenure at IBM spanned over 14 years, during which time he held multiple key roles, including Federal Market Leader for Security Solutions and Cyber Security Manager for the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. Earlier in his career, he contributed to business development and sales strategies at Booz Allen Hamilton and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
His extensive experience has equipped him with a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within the public sector, making him a trusted adviser to government agencies seeking to modernize their IT infrastructures.
Accelerating Digital Transformation
Under Smith’s leadership, Red Hat has launched several initiatives aimed at accelerating digital transformation in the public sector.
One of the most significant collaborations under Smith’s leadership came in October 2024, when Red Hat partnered with the U.S. Army to enhance open-source API capabilities through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. This initiative aims to modernize the Army’s software infrastructure by fostering interoperability and scalability, allowing for more efficient data sharing and system integration across defense networks.
Red Hat also partnered with Elastic in November 2024 to offer a unified data management and artificial intelligence deployment system tailored for public sector organizations. This partnership combines Elastic’s Search AI Platform with Red Hat’s OpenShift AI, providing agencies with a comprehensive toolset to manage data and deploy AI applications effectively. It addresses critical use cases such as predictive maintenance, fraud detection and enhanced threat analysis, thereby enabling agencies to harness the power of AI to improve public services.
In addition to AI initiatives, Smith has been instrumental in advancing Red Hat’s cloud-native application platforms. In March 2024, under his guidance, Red Hat’s OpenShift Service on AWS achieved FedRAMP Ready status. This milestone signifies the platform’s compliance with stringent federal security standards, thereby facilitating its adoption by government agencies. The FedRAMP Ready status enables agencies to deploy and manage containerized applications securely on the cloud, aligning with federal cloud computing strategies and enhancing operational agility.
Knowledge Sharing & Collaboration
Beyond his contributions to technology development, Smith has been an advocate for knowledge-sharing and collaboration within the industry. She played a key role in the 2024 Red Hat Government Symposium, which brought together government and industry leaders to discuss the future of open-source technology in the public sector. The event underscored the importance of leveraging open-source solutions to drive efficiency, cybersecurity resilience and operational effectiveness across government agencies.
Chris Smith’s leadership at Red Hat exemplifies a commitment to innovation and excellence in the public sector. Through strategic initiatives in AI, cloud computing, and open source solutions, he has played a pivotal role in modernizing government IT infrastructures.
His recognition with the Wash100 Award further solidifies his status as a leading figure in the industry, dedicated to enhancing public services through technology. As the public sector continues to evolve, leaders like Smith are essential in guiding agencies toward increased efficiency, security and innovation.
Click here to cast your vote for Smith in the 2025 Wash100 Popular Vote competition.