Patrick McGarry is the Federal Chief Data Officer at ServiceNow, a role he assumed following the company’s acquisition of data.world, where he previously built the Open Data Community, Partner Ecosystem, and Public Sector practices. With two decades of experience spanning defense, intelligence, and the private sector, he leads data strategy and AI governance for ServiceNow’s U.S. federal clients, with particular focus on Department of Defense modernization initiatives.
Patrick began his career as an enlisted member of the U.S. Navy before transitioning to technology leadership roles at Red Hat, Alcatel-Lucent, and SourceForge, where he specialized in building open developer ecosystems. His expertise in metadata management, knowledge graphs, and functional data governance has made him a trusted advisor on AI adoption strategies across federal civilian agencies, defense organizations, and the Intelligence Community.
Patrick brings a unique socio-technical perspective to organizational design and data strategy, recognizing that successful AI and data initiatives require institutional change, not just technical deployment. He explores this thesis in his current book, The Adaptive Organization: Leading Change in the AI Era (Data Literacy Press), which examines why AI transformation failures are rooted in organizational dynamics rather than technology gaps. In his daily work, he positions data infrastructure as trust infrastructure, helping federal leaders build durable capabilities that enable faster decision cycles while maintaining security, compliance, and mission readiness in complex operational environments.