Christine Wormuth was named one of the Wash100 winners for 2024. It is her second Wash100 recognition as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Army.
Learn more about Ms. Wormouth’s professional career, her contributions to government contracting, and her journey to bagging yet another Wash100 award.
Table of Contents
Christine Wormuth: Who is she?
The Honorable Christine Wormouth was appointed Secretary of the Army on May 27, 2021, by President Joe Biden’s nomination and the Senate’s confirmation. She is the 25th person and the first woman to have sworn in this position.
Assuming the senior civilian leadership role in the Army, Ms. Wormouth manages the department’s $185 billion budget and makes crucial decisions for over 330,000 Army civilians and nearly a million Active, Guard, and Reserve soldiers.
Secretary Christine Wormuth is also tasked with presenting, justifying, and communicating Army policies, programs, strategies, and budgets to the Secretary of Defense. She organizes meetings with the Army’s Chief of Staff to discuss issues within the service, provide guidance, and seek consultation and mentorship.
Christine Wormuth holds two Bachelor of Arts degrees—Fine Arts and Political Science–from Williams College and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Maryland.
Join the 9th Annual Army Summit to learn the latest strategies for the toughest challenges in the US Army.
Christine Wormuth’s Professional Background
Secretary Christine Wormouth has over 20 years of experience in defense and national security administration. A decade of her service has been with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Outlined below are her previous positions before becoming the Secretary of the U.S. Army:
- Director of International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND Corporation, from June 2018 to May 2021
- Founding Director at the Adrienne Arsht Center for Resilience, from May 2017 to June 2018
- Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, from January 2017 to June 2018
- Undersecretary for Defense for Policy at the DoD, from June 2014 to June 2016
- Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Forces at the DoD, from Aug 2012 to Jun 2014
- Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Defense at the National Security Staff, from December 2010 to August 2012
- Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense at the DoD, from March 2009 to December 2010
- Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), from December 2004 to March 2009
- Principal at DFI Government Services, from April 2002 to December 2004
- Career Civilian of OSD Policy at the DoD, from December 1995 to March 2002
Christine Wormuth, a Two-time Wash100 Winner
Christine Wormuth was among the elite executives who garnered the Wash100 2024 awards. Executive Mosaic awarded her for leading the U.S. Army’s digital and force leadership modernization efforts.
Jim Garrettson, CEO of Executive Mosaic, lauded the Secretary of the Army for her dedication to transforming the Army and significantly impacting the military ecosystem.
“Christine is just the leader the U.S. Army needs in this period of dramatic digital transformation, force structure reform, and the refocusing of recruitment efforts for the future global force,” Mr. Garrettson said.
Additionally, he underscored Ms. Wormuth’s tenacity in navigating the challenges of hiring and training top-caliber service members in a highly competitive market and forging a transformative path for talent acquisition operations to redefine the future of the U.S. Army.
Wash100 2024 also marks a significant milestone in Christine Wormuth’s career. It is the second time she has been recognized by the awarding body for her work as Secretary of the Army. She won her first Wash100 in 2023.
Related article: Army Leaders Consider Foundational Elements of Data-Centric Force
What is Wash100?
Wash100 is an awarding event established by Executive Mosaic in 2014. Every year, it recognizes the elite leaders for their notable contributions to the government contracting realm.
For over a decade, Wash100 has lauded executives for their expertise in creating impactful milestones. Executive Mosaic’s criteria for choosing its elite roster of winners are executives who demonstrate leadership, innovation, and vision while signaling that their best work is still to come.
Cast your votes on the GovCon executives you deem worthy of the Wash100 Popularity Vote!
Christine Wormuth’s Impact on the Army and the GovCon Industry
As a proponent of transforming the U.S. Department of the Army, Christine Wormuth is actively participating in the service’s transformation.
On April 10, 2024, Secretary Wormuth and Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, the two senior leaders of the Army, discussed the importance of transforming the Army to keep up with the changes of war and deter them as best possible. At Capitol Hill, they urged lawmakers to pass a currently pending supplemental bill worth $95 million.
Specifically, Ms. Wormuth emphasized that the budget is allocated to support military operations in Ukraine and the Middle East. Additionally, the budget targets to help replenish munitions and other equipment, particularly 155 mm shells, that were previously sent to allies.
Ms. Wormuth also discussed the Army’s other priority: taking care of its soldiers and their families. “As we pursue this transformation, we must also take care of our people,” she said, highlighting that the service plans to invest $2 billion annually to expand its Holistic Health and Fitness program to improve warfighters’ well-being.
Through Christine Wormuth’s advocacy, the U.S. Department of the Army is on the right track in fostering a healthy, sustainable, and advanced department that influences other GovCon leaders to do the same in their realms.
You might also want to read: Agile Principles Help Mitigate Risk to Army Enterprise Training System