DEA COO Gary Owen to Keynote 2025 Homeland Security Summit
Potomac Officers Club, the national capital region’s leading GovCon networking organization, is delighted to announce that Gary Owen, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief operating officer, will give a keynote address at the 2025 Homeland Security Summit this Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia.
The 2025 Homeland Security Summit is POC’s top venue for evaluating the fast-moving homeland security market. The Department of Homeland Security and its subagencies were the largest recipients of funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that became law in July–an eye-popping $190.6 billion that doubled DHS’ funding. That is in addition to DHS’ $64 billion FY 2026 budget request.
Why Is the 2025 Homeland Security Summit a Must-Attend for Executives?
This event brings together leading federal officials and top-ranking industry executives to examine crucial ways to protect the U.S. from emerging threats in this challenging era of security. Owen’s keynote is the can’t-miss event of the year for GovCon professionals seeking to win contract awards from DHS’ massive funding boost. Tickets are almost sold out, get yours today!
As DEA COO, Owen oversees agency-wide operations ranging from IT, enterprise modernization, human resources, public affairs and financial management. Owen is a sought-after expert on creating transformational technical services for the defense, security and government sectors.
Owen’s expertise in critical GovCon missions such as data fusion, fraud analytics and case management provides him with a unique perspective on how emerging technologies and innovation can bolster public sector performance. GovCons will benefit from hearing Owen’s spending priorities, his latest technological requirements and what he wants from industry during his keynote at the 2025 Homeland Security Summit.
Who Is Gary Owen?
Owen has spent 28 years at the DEA, with a two-year break from 2023-2025 as Aperia’s vice president of government relations. Before becoming COO, Owen served as an intelligence analyst and a special agent. He has directed some of the DEA’s most important and high-profile programs, such as one of its earliest major cases targeting precursor chemical diversion.
Additionally, Owen has vast senior executive experience having spent nine years in roles spanning congressional and public affairs, inspections and professional responsibility. In these efforts, he led campaigns to drive results through organizational transformation and modernize operations.
Other career highlights include:
- Managing multi-million dollar budgets and teams spanning 23 domestic field divisions and 90 international offices
- Numerous awards from local, state and federal governments for dedicated leadership in law enforcement and external affairs
- Owen is a certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist
What Owen Will Address in His Keynote
Owen’s keynote at the 2025 Homeland Security Summit will give GovCon technology executives a special opportunity to hear directly from one of the highest-ranking officials in the federal government’s agency tasked with enforcing the nation’s controlled substance laws and regulations. The DEA requested $2.4 billion in its FY 2026 budget request, according to Bloomberg Law.
Some possible topics include:
- DEA’s data strategy. Data is foundational to the agency’s efforts to bring criminal organizations to justice and provides a sophisticated means of isolating and eliminating threats. Hear from Owen what the DEA needs to harness, sift and make the best use of its immense amount of data.
- Digital transformation. The DEA has a variety of digital transformation efforts in process, including digitizing its records management application and ending its submission of paper records to the Federal Records Center.
- Cyber investments. Hear about the administration’s vast array of cybersecurity efforts, such as zero trust, cloud security and incident management and response.
Why Owen’s Keynote Is Essential for GovCons
Owen’s keynote at the 2025 Homeland Security Summit is a unique opportunity for GovCon executives to hear directly from a top DEA official. Attendees can look forward to:
- Spending insights. Hear directly from Owen about technology investments the DEA is prioritizing in FY 2026
- Q&A session. Get your pressing questions answered by Owen after his keynote
- Networking. Have the valuable face-to-face conversations with other GovCon titans that only happen in live venue settings.
Why Attend the 2025 Homeland Security Summit?
The 2025 Homeland Security Summit is the top GovCon forum for technology professionals. It will bring together leading federal officials and GovCon executives under one roof to talk about the most essential issues in homeland security contracting.
The agenda includes:
- Keynotes by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow, and (just announced!) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala
- Panels on cutting-edge topics:
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- Get the scoop on AI at one of our five (!) panel discussions on how DHS is leveraging the technology to revolutionize its operations
- Dig into the latest in law enforcement technology at the Finding the Balance Between Innovation and the Law Enforcement Mission panel featuring James McCament, Customs and Border Protection chief digital transformation officer
- Dive deep into logistics at the Contested Logistics on the Homefront: Securing Supply Chains for Homeland Resilience panel discussion
The 2025 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 12 at the Hyatt Regency Reston is the must-attend GovCon conference for technology executives interested in homeland security. Tap into this opportunity to learn of new business opportunities and get an edge on your competition. Sign up today!
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