Indian-American Tech Executive Sumeet Shrivastava Elected Rector of George Mason University's Board of Visitors

FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA — Sumeet Shrivastava, a 1994 MBA graduate of George Mason University and a veteran executive in the federal government IT sector, has been elected rector of the university's Board of Visitors, the governing body's top leadership position. The election took place at the board's first meeting of the new fiscal year, where members also reviewed university president Gregory Washington's goals for 2026–27, elected new board leadership, and welcomed incoming provost Marion Underwood.

Shrivastava had been serving as vice rector before his election to the top post. He is the former chair of the George Mason University Foundation Board of Trustees and a past president of the university's Alumni Association — positions that reflect a relationship with the university that stretches back more than three decades, since his own time as an MBA student in Mason's Costello College of Business.

A Career Built in Government IT

Shrivastava is president and CEO of Unissant, a federal consulting and software development company focused on national security and federal health missions. Earlier in his career, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ANSTEC, a government IT contractor, where he helped architect the company's sale to Keane (now part of NTT DATA). He later held senior vice president roles at Keane, overseeing public sector business and North American commercial sales and marketing. He was also, most recently, Chairman and CEO of ARRAY, leading the company through a management buyout of its founder and independent investors before its eventual sale to CGI Federal.

"George Mason Is in a Perfect Place to Execute That"

Speaking to the university's news office after his election, Shrivastava echoed President Washington's view that George Mason is positioned to become a model for a modern public university amid what both described as a period of dramatic change across higher education. "George Mason is in a perfect place to execute that," Shrivastava said. "We're a region that's growing. … We're already number one in Virginia for the outcomes families really care about — degree value and upward mobility. Doesn't make the shocks and challenges less real. If we manage them with discipline, and frankly a little obsession — if not a lot of obsession — we help lead the transformation. That's how a 50-year-old university becomes the model."

The board's meeting also announced a transformative gift supporting George Mason's College of Public Health, alongside a broader set of leadership changes: Anne Altman was elected vice rector, Paul Misener was named secretary, and Delbert Parks and Jon Peterson were elected members-at-large. The board also welcomed a new member, James W. Dyke Jr., a former Virginia Secretary of Education.

Deep Roots in Fairfax County and the Regional Business Community

Shrivastava has lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, since 1974, moving through the Commonwealth's public school system from second grade through his MBA at George Mason. That regional rootedness has translated into extensive civic involvement well beyond the university: he currently serves as vice chair of the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation, president of TiE DC — a chapter of the global entrepreneurship network The Indus Entrepreneurs — and project committee chair of the GO Virginia Region 7 Advisory Council. The Shrivastava family is also a title partner of the Science Center's Helios immersive gallery, designed to engage young learners in science and discovery, and he serves as a trustee of the Shakespeare Theatre Company and a board member of CRi, which supports individuals with disabilities and mental health needs.

Shrivastava's civic profile was recently recognized outside the university as well: he received a TiE DC Appreciation Award for his work supporting entrepreneurship, mentorship and workforce development in the Washington, D.C. region — recognition that reflects the same pattern running through his George Mason leadership, connecting his private-sector career in government contracting to sustained investment in regional education and civic institutions.

Why It Matters

Shrivastava's election as rector places an Indian-American technology executive at the helm of governance for one of Virginia's largest and fastest-growing public universities, at a moment when George Mason's Board of Visitors has seen significant turnover in its membership. His long institutional relationship with the university — as an alumnus, foundation chair and alumni association president before joining the governing board itself — reflects a familiar diaspora pattern: successful first- and second-generation professionals reinvesting deeply in the specific American institutions, often their own alma maters, that shaped their early careers.

• Sumeet Shrivastava was elected rector of George Mason University's Board of Visitors, its top governance post.

• He previously served as vice rector and is a 1994 MBA graduate of Mason's Costello College of Business.

• He is president and CEO of Unissant, a federal IT and consulting firm serving national security and health missions.

• He is the former chair of the George Mason University Foundation Board of Trustees and a past Alumni Association president.

• He also serves in leadership roles at TiE DC, the Northern Virginia Science Center Foundation, and CRi.