Cathy Read

Managing Director, Senior Procurement Executive, U.S. Department of State

Ms. Cathy Read currently has a dual role of Senior Procurement Executive of the Office of the Procurement Executive (A/OPE) and Managing Director of the Office of Acquisitions Management (A/OPE/AQM). Ms. Read is the lead executive responsible for the management, administration, and oversight of the Department’s acquisitions, international assistance, strategic sourcing, and competitive sourcing programs totaling over $8 billion in annual acquisitions.

Prior to joining the Department in 2000, though the Foreign Affairs Reorganization, Ms. Read worked with several government and private entities including the U.S. Department of the Navy where she procured command, control and communications systems for submarines, as Director of Contracts at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

Ms. Read was inducted into the Senior Executive Service in 2002. She received the Presidential Rank Meritorious Executive Award in 2007. She is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Master’s Degree in Teaching of Technical Writing. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management from DeVry University.