GDIT hires former Homeland Security official

Falls Church based-General Dynamics Information Technology Inc. has named Matt Hayden, a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, to serve as its new vice president of cyber client engagement, the defense contractor announced May 5.

Hayden will be responsible for building relationships within the cyber industry and with government leaders as well as growth strategies. He previously served as assistant secretary for cyber, infrastructure, risk and resilience policy at DHS, where he led policy for the department’s efforts to reduce national risk with a focus on critical infrastructure cybersecurity, federal network security and cyber crime. According to his LinkedIn account, Hayden worked in the role from September 2020 to January 2021.

“Matt is a nationally-recognized expert in both cyber technology and policy and further deepens our cyber expertise within the intelligence and homeland security sector,” Kelly Ferrell, GDIT senior vice president for intelligence and homeland security, said in a statement. “His extensive background and knowledge of cybersecurity will play a critical role in helping our customers modernize their cyber defenses and enable their missions.”

Before serving in the assistant secretary role at DHS, Hayden also served in the department as senior adviser to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as well as deputy assistant secretary for the private sector within the Officer of Partnership and Engagement.

“As federal agencies adopt zero trust strategies and harden their cyber defenses, GDIT is focused on supporting customers with innovative solutions,” said Hayden. “I am looking forward to working alongside other GDIT cyber experts to help solve our customers’ mission-critical challenges.”

GDIT is a business unit of Reston-based Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor General Dynamics Corp., an aerospace and defense company that employs more than 100,000 people worldwide and generated $38.5 billion in revenue in 2021.