Chris Smith, vice president and general manager of the North American public sector at Red Hat, brings extensive experience and expertise in delivering advanced capabilities that meet federal government requirements to Executive Mosaic’s 4×24 Leadership Program, where he serves as chair of Leadership Group 3. In this role, he guides conversations that directly result in stronger alignment between industry innovation and government mission requirements.
Want to connect with top GovCon leaders and government decision makers? Explore Executive Mosaic’s 4×24 Leadership Program.
Who Is Chris Smith?
As head of Red Hat’s North American public sector, Smith leads the company’s sales strategy and customer engagement efforts across government markets.
Before joining Red Hat in 2022, Smith was vice president for U.S. federal at enterprise software company HCL Technologies. He also spent more than 14 years at IBM, where he held multiple leadership roles of increasing responsibilities, including federal market leader for security solutions and cybersecurity manager for the company’s Department of War and intelligence community accounts.
Smith also served as a senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he contributed to Navy enterprise resource planning initiatives, earlier in his career.
The executive holds a master’s degree in public administration from the George Washington University School of Business.
What Are Some of Chris Smith’s Career Achievements?
Under Smith’s leadership, Red Hat maintains its position as a trusted partner for government agencies seeking to modernize their systems. Just this December, Red Hat’s OpenShift Service on AWS secured Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program High certification, enabling federal agencies to run sensitive, mission-critical workloads on a managed application platform that meets stringent government security requirements.
“This authorization means federal agencies can deploy their most sensitive, mission-critical workloads on a security-focused, managed, application platform,” Smith said about the achievement.
The executive is also well-regarded across industry for advocating for open source technologies in federal missions to improve transparency and drive innovation. In an article he penned in 2022, he explained that open-source platforms allow organizations to break down silos and adopt more portable architectures that can operate across multicloud and hybrid environments. This portability allows agencies to use consistent technologies, tools and skill sets to manage mission-critical workloads.
Smith also highlighted the role of open source in advancing enterprise automation and modern software practices. He said agencies can use open source technologies to support the adoption of DevSecOps, platform engineering and other modern software development approaches that improve IT operations.
His efforts to advance open source capabilities earned him his first Wash100 Award in 2025. Conferred annually by Executive Mosaic, the Wash100 is a prestigious recognition honoring the most influential people in government and the government contracting sector for their leadership, innovation and impact on federal missions and industry growth.
“Chris captured the Wash100 voting committee’s attention by bringing Red Hat’s open-source expertise deeper into government operations,” Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic and founder of the Wash100 Award, stated.
“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,” Garrettson added.
What Is Chris Smith’s Role as 4×24 Chair?
In addition to his responsibilities at Red Hat, Smith serves as the chairperson of Executive Mosaic’s 4×24 Leadership Group 3.
As chair, he facilitates discussions between government and industry leaders on emerging technology priorities. His extensive experience in government contracting enables him to contribute a mission-focused perspective to the group’s conversations.
Smith also plays a role in fostering collaboration among industry leaders to drive innovation that advances shared objectives and supports the delivery of modern, scalable technology to customers.
What Is the 4×24 Leadership Program?
Executive Mosaic’s 4×24 Leadership Program provides a platform for senior government contracting executives to build relationships, exchange insights and engage with high-ranking government leaders on mission priorities.
Central to the program are its dinners, which provide members exclusive access to decision-makers across government for discussions on policy priorities, acquisition reforms and emerging challenges facing federal agencies.
The 4×24 Leadership Program is open to senior-level executives who want to connect with other industry leaders, expand their presence in the GovCon landscape and help shape federal missions.
Ready to join the conversation? Learn more about Executive Mosaic’s 4×24 Leadership Program today.