J. Greg Hanson Ph. D.

J. Greg Hanson Ph. D.

Profession:
Executive Vice President for Defense & Homeland Security/Criterion Systems

In 2008, J. Greg Hanson Ph. D. assumed the position of Executive Vice President for Defense & Homeland Security at Criterion Systems, Inc., an IT Solutions and Services company in Virginia, where he is responsible for their business with the Department of Defense and the Department for Homeland Security, and for their High Performance Computing business. He is also an Adjunct Full Professor, teaching graduate information technology courses for the University of Maryland.

Prior to taking on this new role, Hanson served as the United States Senates first Chief Information Officer (CIO). With nearly 30 years of experience, Dr. Hanson will contribute to all aspects of strategic decision making for Criterion, and focus on innovative technology solutions for key Government customers.

Dr. Hanson brings a long track record of technology leadership experience to Criterion. Before his tenure at the U.S. Senate, Hanson was CTO for Universal Systems & Technology (UNITECH), where he led the development and execution of technology and business strategies, growing the company from $42 M in annual revenues to over $80 M in less than two years. Hanson was also CTO at Telos Corporation. Hanson's tenure at Telos followed a distinguished career in the United States Air Force where he retired in 1997 as Chief Software Engineer at USAF Headquarters.

In addition to his executive role at Criterion, Hanson is a respected international lecturer and author with numerous awards for leadership and professional excellence. He is an active member of several boards and associations including the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), and AFCEA's International Technology Committee.

Hanson earned a Bachelor of Science from the United States Air Force Academy, Master of Science in information systems from the Air Force Institute of Technology, and Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Central Florida.

Hanson's initial career was in the United States Air Force, where he retired in 1997 as Chief Software Engineer at USAF Headquarters. There he developed global software policies and led the agency's $345 million Y2K program. He served as Chief Scientist at NATO's Central Region Headquarters, where he managed a $200 million command and control project, directed a four-contractor international consortium, and built NATO's largest local area network. Hanson served as CIO, Under Secretary Defense (Acquisition) for four years. In this position he led a technology development and support division and managed $110 million in contracts and resources.

After retiring from the Air Force, Hanson became chief technology officer at Telos Corporation, where he developed an information assurance spin-off called Xacta, where he was the company's first CTO. He then served as CTO for Universal Systems & Technology (UNITECH), a northern Virginia technology firm.

He then served as the first Chief Information Officer for the United States Senate where he was responsible for planning and operations of a 500-person organization and a $150M budget supporting the Senate.

2006 University of Central Florida Distinguished Alumnus Award, a Federal Computer Week Fed100 Award, AFFIRM's Award for Leadership in Service Excellence and Management, and AFCEA's Gold Medal for Engineering and Excellence in Information Technology awards. He has been an active member of the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA), Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), Greater Washington Board of Trade, and Northern Virginia Technology Council.

He also has numerous publications in computer science, industrial engineering, database systems, and information technology and business applications of information technology.

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