Gary Ashworth is the Director of Georgia Tech Research Institute’s (GTRI) Washington Operations. In this position, Ashworth provides leadership, strategic insights, and conducts key engagements to support and advance GTRI’s strategic efforts and works to enhance key relationships with federal agencies in the greater Washington, D.C. metro area.

Ashworth most recently served as the Acting Secretary of the Air Force and was responsible for organizing, training and equipping the U.S. Air and Space Forces. As the department’s senior leader, he oversaw an annual budget exceeding $200 billion, provided Air and Space forces to Combatant Commanders in support of global military operations and is accountable for the welfare of nearly 700,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian Airmen and Guardians and their families. Prior to his role as Acting Secretary, Ashworth served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, where he advised the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Defense on matters relating to the Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition System, acquisition program management, and the development of strategic, space, intelligence, tactical warfare, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (C4ISR), and business systems.

Ashworth also served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) Strategic, Space, and Intelligence Portfolio Management (SSIPM). In these roles, he was responsible for acquisition shaping, analysis, and oversight of warfighter capability portfolios across the DoD associated with nuclear weapons systems; nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3); space; missile defense; and C4ISR domains.

Ashworth has been involved in all phases of DoD acquisition, sustainment, research, development, and engineering since joining the defense acquisition workforce in 1992. His prior OSD duties included Director, Space and Missile Defense and Nuclear Weapons Systems Acquisition Lead for the OUSD (A&S). He also served as a Major Defense Acquisition Program Support Team Lead for OUSD (Research and Engineering) where he provided systems engineering support to and led independent technical risk assessments on more than 60 major defense acquisition and information system programs in the nuclear weapon system, NC3, and C4ISR domains.

Ashworth served in uniform in the Air Force for more than 20 years. His final USAF assignment was serving as a squadron commander of an acquisition squadron and program manager for several C4ISR programs. 

Ashworth holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and a Master’s Degree in Military Operational Art and Science from Air University. He most recently obtained an M.S. in Cybersecurity from Johns Hopkins University.

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