The homeland security community mourns today as news of the unexpected passing of Dan Smith, Vice President and General Manager of the Homeland Security Sector at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), spreads. Smith passed away Thursday, February 6, reportedly after a battle with dysautonomia, a nervous system disorder that disrupts autonomic body processes.
Amy Gilliland, President of GDIT shared the news, “All who knew and worked with Dan at GDIT are heartbroken. Dan was a special leader who came into our company with the passion and ideas to make us better. He dove straight in—serving as a mentor to our early career professionals, sharing his knowledge and being there for his colleagues—and his impact was immediately felt.”
“It is with great sadness we share the news of Dan Smith’s passing. He was the Homeland Security sector Vice President and General Manager at GDIT. He was an avid adventurer, loving father and fiancé. The GDIT team is saddened by the loss of a leader, mentor, friend and colleague. His intelligence, humor and dedication to the mission will be missed by many. We share our sympathies with his family, friends and loved ones” Aaron Bedrowsky, GDIT Senior Vice President, Intelligence and Homeland Security said in a statement shared by GDIT with Homeland Security Today.
Comments also began pouring out on social media from friends and colleagues as the news spread:
On LinkedIn, Smith’s colleague Nabeela Barbari, Vice President – Cyber, Law Enforcement, Intelligence, and Citizenship Business Area at GDIT shared a moving tribute: “Dan accomplished so much, so quickly, starting with so little. His impact lives on through his daughters and the countless people he’s inspired. As he told one of our colleagues…who knew him best: ‘You over come adversity by saying why me today, and what next tomorrow.’ Rest easy, friend. We’re keeping your light on. (Jeremiah 29:11).”
Bryan Ware, Founder and CEO of Stealth, and former Chief Development Officer and CEO of ZeroFox, posted “Dan was one of the best in our industry – there was no better executive in the homeland security and cyber industry. He was such a joy to work with, so much fun to be with and so smart. He loved people … and partners, employees and customers all loved to work with him. What an enormous loss.”
As the VP and GM, Smith led more than 1,500 professionals in delivering critical solutions across AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, 5G, biometrics, digital transformation, and post-quantum cryptography to support essential government missions. Before joining GDIT in April 2024, he held significant leadership positions at various top systems integrators and cybersecurity firms.
Smith was the Senior Vice President of the Federal sector at ZeroFox, which he joined through its acquisition of LookingGlass Cyber Solutions. As President of federal operations at LookingGlass, Smith provided curated and actionable threat intelligence to the nation’s most critical cyber missions. Smith dedicated several years at ManTech to cybersecurity, IT automation, and advanced data analytics, serving numerous federal agencies. His leadership of the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program was instrumental in enhancing the cybersecurity posture of over 65 federal agencies. Prior to that, at Govplace and GTSI Corp., he focused on deploying advanced technology solutions across federal civilian, defense, law enforcement, and intelligence communities.
Named as a “Top National Security Execs to Watch in 2024” by WashingtonExec, Dan said, “The achievement I’m most proud of in 2024 is the way our team has come together here at GDIT. We’re building the single best force of passionate technologists and leaders in the industry, and I can’t wait to get up every morning to work with them.”
Our condolences to the family. Funeral and details about where to send condolences will be posted as it comes available. Comments have been turned on for this post to share thoughts and prayers with the family.