William Scott Gould (born July 19, 1957) is a former

United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs The deputy secretary of veterans affairs, in the United States government, is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for a nationwide system of health care services, benefits programs, and nat ...

. Gould is also an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Early life and education

Gould was born in

Topsfield, Massachusetts Topsfield is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,569 at the 2020 census. Topsfield is located in the North Shore region of Massachusetts. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Topsfiel ...

. He holds an AB degree from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and MBA and Ed.D. degrees from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

Military service

He is a retired

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

who served for 26 years in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

. During his initial active duty commitment, he served at sea aboard the guided missile destroyer . Separating from active duty and affiliating in the then-Naval Reserve, he transitioned to the intelligence community. As a Naval Intelligence reservist, CAPT Gould was recalled to active duty for

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

and

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

Career

Clinton and Bush administrations

From 1993 to 1994, Gould served as a White House Fellow in the Export-Import Bank of the United States and in the Office of the White House Chief of Staff. From 1994 to 1997, Gould has also served as deputy assistant secretary for finance and management at the Department of Treasury; he served from 1997 to 2001 as chief financial officer and assistant secretary for administration at the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

. From 2001 to 2002, he served as deputy to the Director of the

Naval Criminal Investigative Service The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate criminal activities involving the Navy and Marine Corps, though its ...

Business career

Gould was also

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of The O'Gara Company from 2002 to 2004, an investment services firm, and COO of Exolve, a technology services company.W. Scott Gould, Deputy Secretary - Biography
/ref> Immediately prior to his appointment at the VA, Gould was vice president for "public sector strategy" at

IBM Global Business Services IBM Consulting, rebranded in 2021 from IBM Global Business Services, is the professional services and consulting arm of IBM. IBM Consulting provides services to companies, global government organizations, non-profits and NGOs. IBM Consulting IBM ...

from 2004 to 2009. He is co-author (with

Linda Bilmes Linda J. Bilmes (born 1960) holds the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Senior Lecturer Chair in Public Policy and Public Finance at Harvard University. She is a full-time faculty member at the Harvard Kennedy School where she teaches public policy, budget ...

) of the best-selling book ''The People Factor: Strengthening America by Investing in Public Service''.

Obama administration

After President Obama's election, he served as co-chair of the VA Agency Review Team for the Presidential Transition Team. He was confirmed to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs on April 2, 2009, to replace Gordon H. Mansfield, who resigned on January 20, 2009. Gould resigned on May 17, 2013. He was then appointed executive vice president at CareFirst, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan of Maryland.CareFirst Announces New Senior Management Positions (September 23, 2013 Press Release)

Personal life

Gould is married to

Michèle Flournoy Michèle Angélique Flournoy (, born December 14, 1960) is an American defense policy advisor and former government official. She was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy under President Bill Clinton and Under Secretary of Defense ...

, the former

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy The United States under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The under secretary of defense for policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the Unite ...

. They have three children and reside in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

References

External links

W. Scott Gould Bio at VA.gov
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gould, W. Scott 1957 births American chief executives of financial services companies American chief financial officers American chief operating officers Cornell University alumni United States Navy officers Living people People from Topsfield, Massachusetts United States Deputy Secretaries of Veterans Affairs University of Rochester alumni White House Fellows Obama administration personnel