Be Bold, Seen & Invaluable: Garry Schwartz Transforms his Military Mission to Industry Success
Garry Schwartz didn't begin his career in a boardroom, or even at an intern's desk, for that matter. He joined the military just in timeย ...
Chief Operating Officer, Huntington Ingalls
Search every verified Garry Schwartz interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote โ each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Garry Schwartz, chief operating officer at HII Mission Technologies, has discussed the company's role in supporting the Department of Defense's Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) initiative. In June 2025 appearances on DefenseTech TV, Schwartz described CJADC2 as "a suite of capabilities" that are "still on a drawing board" and said the underlying technologies exist but must be brought together. He emphasized the importance of data fabrics or data meshes coupled with artificial intelligence to enable interoperability, and noted that HII has been asked to support the mission partner environment with a cloud-based platform called Ionic. Schwartz also discussed the challenge of integrating systems that were not built to work in a net-centric fashion and the need for industry to engage in dialogue with defense leaders to avoid building the wrong solutions. In a November 2025 podcast interview, Schwartz reflected on his transition from 21 years in the Marine Corps to industry leadership. He advised that former military personnel entering the defense industry should "come in with a little bit of humbleness, with that boldness" and pitch how they can quickly contribute. Schwartz said patience is a key skill he often sees missing in younger workers, and that career success "takes some time." He discussed an internal HII platform called "My Career Compass," which he said was born from a need to identify employees for proposals and uses AI to help reshape career development. Schwartz also stated that while industry must make a profit, the motivation is "to beat the competition to give our forces what they need."
“The thing I wish I had known then was the idea of being visible. And don't confuse being visible with someone that just loves to be the center of attention. But by the same token, if you're really a wallflower and no one ever knows the great work you do, then a lot of opportunities can pass you by.”
“While we're in industry and we do have to make a profit to continue to survive, the motivation is to beat the competition to give our forces what they need and otherwise might not get.”
“If your motivation is to do the best you can and to do the right thing for the right reasons, then have no fear. Don't worry about failure. Don't worry about not knowing enough.”
“The mistake I make more often than I would like is hiring the wrong people. Sometimes it's about fit. Sometimes it's about really a misalignment of their goals versus what we are looking for.”
Garry Schwartz didn't begin his career in a boardroom, or even at an intern's desk, for that matter. He joined the military just in timeย ...
Garry Schwartz, Chief Operating Officer of HII Mission Technologies provides a realistic assessment of the current state and futureย ...
In this special episode of DefenseTech TV, we bring together top voices from both government and industry to explore howย ...
Gary Schwartz takes up the acid test of extraordinary claimsโhe calls it the โFive Finger Testโ (FFT)โwith an emphasis on originalย ...
For Gary Schwartz, leaving New York was the only difficult part of taking the top job at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Gary Schwartz - Acknowlwdging the Spirit: A Turning Point in Research presented at the 5th U.S. Spiritist Medical Congressย ...
Why Meeting someone is more important than reading a resume.
"I had a goal to do something intellectually challenging, that would make a difference, and something that has some variety."
It seems that almost everyone today holds claim to a secret idea or โnew theory.โ But when is a theoretical novelty really worthย ...
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