At Thursday’s 16th annual International Stability Operations Association summit event, KBR’s Tom Lampley concluded his role as ISOA chairman and the organization welcomed Amentum Senior Vice President John Gastright as the next chairman.
The event took place at the Hilton Hotel in McLean, Virginia, and hosted hundreds of leaders across the fields of military, contracting, small businesses, non-governmental organizations and academia.
“It’s the largest, most successful summit we’ve ever had,” said Gastright, who spoke with GovCon Wire following the conclusion of the conference’s first day.
As the ISOA’s most prominent event, the yearly summit brings policymakers, industry leaders, implementers and experts together, serving as a key point of connection for the expansive stability community.
This year’s conference considered a variety of global issues in stability operations including cybersecurity, logistics, health care, refugees, legal affairs, small business needs and additional contracting support opportunities from organizations involved in stability operations worldwide.
Day one of the two-day event featured numerous panels, one of which was moderated by the incoming chairman. During the summit’s first panel, Gastright guided a discussion on strategic competition as it is related to the Indo-Pacific region.
Additional panels held throughout the day addressed multiple areas of focus for stability organizations including strategic competition, contingency contracting, future threats and more.
Gastright emphasized the success of the summit’s panel discussions, which facilitated high engagement from attendees.
“I think that was reflected in the comments of several of our guests, as well as the quality of the interaction from the audience,” he said.
Looking toward the next leg of the conference, Gastright highlighted the excitement fostered by the first day’s success.
“We’re really looking forward to day two. We’re going to continue the energy and momentum,” he said.
