Stop Chasing Shiny Objects: Winning in the New GovCon Era with Jaime Gracia Sponsored by vTech Solution

On this episode of Former Fed Friday, Hunter Gros and Shelley McGuire have a conversation with ⁠Jaime Gracia⁠, former Federal Procurement Executive at the Department of State and now director at The Wolverine Group. He offers a look at what’s really changing in federal acquisition. With all the buzz around AI, FAR 2.0, and procurement reform, Jaime separates hype from reality. He explains why outcome-based contracting is gaining traction, but why most agencies won’t transform overnight. He dives into the gap between policy and execution, the continued influence of risk aversion, and the operational strain facing today’s acquisition workforce. Jaime also delivers practical advice for industry: stop chasing shiny objects, focus on quantified past performance, strengthen subcontracting and teaming strategies, and deeply understand how your target agencies actually buy. As consolidation grows and small business pathways evolve, positioning yourself as a safe, innovative partner is more important than ever. For companies navigating uncertainty in GovCon, this conversation provides grounded insight from someone who has led procurement from the inside and now helps shape its future. To connect with Jaime visit him on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠. Learn more about The Wolverine Group by visiting their website ⁠here⁠. If you liked listening to this episode, view our Former Fed Perspectives page ⁠here⁠. To view all of our podcast series, visit our ⁠podcast page⁠. Thank you to our sponsor ⁠vTech Solution⁠.