Shared Services Governance Board

Harry Knight

Director, Office of Performance Excellence

Department of Commerce (DOC)

Harry is responsible for leading the 49,000-employee Department’s organizational performance management system, providing governance oversight of more than $5 billion in economic recovery funds, and facilitating strategic planning within the Office of the Secretary. He provides executive leadership for several strategic initiatives and works closely with Commerce’s top political appointees and career senior executives to develop and implement strategies to strengthen American competitiveness and foster U.S. economic growth.

With global experience as a leader in the government, military, and business, Harry has gained a strategic-level understanding of global economic competition, U.S. economic and national security, and organizational governance. As a nonprofit board member, executive, and consultant, he has led complex enterprise-level business transformation initiatives to improve operational and financial efficiency in the government and private sector. He has led diverse high-performing teams in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce and within the U.S. Agency of International Development, as well as served in shorter assignments at the U.S. Senate Committee for Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the U.S. Treasury Department, and the National Security Professional Development–Integration Office.

Harry has dedicated his career to helping organizations achieve their strategic goals and improve results. After completing 7 years as an active duty U.S. Navy Officer, he honed his business and financial acumen as a Portfolio Financial Manager and Strategy Consultant at Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc. (JLL) where he managed the fiduciary oversight and financial controls of a portfolio of more than 25 public-private partnership companies valued at over $6.9 billion. In additional to his full-time job, he currently serves at the rank of Captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve as the Reserve Commodore for Commander Naval Surface Group Southeast. As a Navy Reserve officer, he has served as the Commanding Officer of Navy Reserve units as a Captain, Commander, and Lieutenant Commander. As a Navy Reservist he also provided strategy and policy analyses for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Naval Operations, and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Harry graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He also holds a master’s degree in finance from Texas A&M University, Mays School of Business, and completed the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Senior Executive Fellows program.

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