GDIT President Amy Gilliland to speak at D.C. area commencement
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) president Amy Gilliland will address over 200 Hokies and their family and friends attending the Virginia Tech commencement ceremony in the greater Washington, D.C., area on Sunday, May 15.
Gilliland has more than 25 years of public sector experience including service in the U.S. Navy and nearly two decades in leadership positions at General Dynamics. GDIT, a business unit of General Dynamics Corporation, delivers critical mission capabilities across defense, civilian, and intelligence agencies.
“We are delighted that Ms. Gilliland will be addressing our graduates,” said Virginia Tech Graduate School Dean Amieé Surprenant. “Her dedication to putting people first demonstrates that one can be a successful, productive manager while still leading with compassion and empathy. These lessons, particularly at this time of global disruption, are ones that will help build future leaders who can guide others in times of crisis and flourish and thrive in that environment.”
Gilliland was named president in September 2017. Under her leadership, GDIT has embarked on a growth strategy focused on in-demand technology market areas such as artificial intelligence/machine learning, cloud, and cybersecurity.
As president, Gilliland has built an employee-focused culture that delivers mission-critical solutions with speed and accountability. This involves equipping the workforce with advanced technical skills and certifications and developing thousands of early-career professionals to meet the evolving requirements of customers.
“I am honored to share this milestone with graduates and their families. Virginia Tech alumni are making a difference across GDIT every day. We are excited to see the impact these graduates will have as they take the next step in their careers,” Gilliland said.
GDIT employs over 250 Virginia Tech alumni and has had research agreements in place with Virginia Tech for over a decade.
Gilliland is a member of the board of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. She has been recognized as one of Virginia Business Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Virginians and is a four-time Wash100 award recipient, with her most recent award in 2022.
She earned a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s degree from Cambridge University, and a master’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University.
Among the graduates this year will be approximately 50 students in the D.C. area graduating in computer science and computer engineering, the programs affiliated with the Innovation Campus.
In addition to Gilliland’s remarks, student speaker Roxanne Paul, 2021 graduate of the Master of Natural Resources (online) program, and longtime employee for the computer science department in the College of Engineering, will address attendees.
The D.C. area ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax. More information and details on the DC area commencement ceremony can be found at nvc.vt.edu/commencement.
