Meet Joe

Executive Vice President Joe Mahaffee served as the firm’s chief administrative officer (CAO).  As the CAO, Joe was responsible for providing strategic direction for all firmwide infrastructure operations, including IT, financial services, security, facilities, and more. His work helped the firm manage risk and ensure compliance, always looking for opportunities to improve efficiency.

Prior to assuming his CAO role, Joe served as Booz Allen's chief information security officer (CISO), responsible for the security of our firm’s networks, systems, and data. He also held a variety of client and market-facing leadership roles, including client service officer for our National Security Agency (NSA) account, assurance and resilience capability leader, and leader for the northeast region. In each of these positions, he successfully grew the business, developed strong client and industry relationships, introduced new capabilities and services, and worked seamlessly and collaboratively with teams across the firm to drive success for clients.

Joe has primarily focused his career serving defense and intelligence clients. He has more than 36 years of professional experience in cybersecurity, systems engineering, communications, information assurance, and signals intelligence.

Before joining Booz Allen, Joe was an information security engineer with the NSA. He served on the Board of Directors for the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Central Maryland chapter and the Board of the Independent College Fund of Maryland.

Joe holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Clemson University and an M.S. in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Where do you see Booz Allen in the next 100 years? In the 35 years I’ve been here, I think about how the business, and business space, have changed. Over the next 100 years, I see our business being much more diverse and global in terms of how and where we deliver services. We’ll drive forward to new business models and leverage our product base. I believe we’ll see a much more diverse portfolio in the future. Our people are interested in expanding. We don’t get stuck doing just one thing. I think we can be attractive to a variety of people who seek diverse career opportunities.

How do you help clients prepare for the future? We try to understand their current and future needs and requirements. We anticipate what the future trends are from a technological viewpoint, a threat viewpoint, and a competitive viewpoint. Then we determine what we need both now and in the future to address those needs. It can take time to redirect programs and current activities. This is about building our people programs, our technologies, our processes, all geared toward our current and future businesses.

How do you manage and motivate people? First, show them the promise of the future. People need an inspirational vision they can relate to. If they don’t feel inspired and see how they fit into a bigger role, it’s hard for them to get excited about their careers and responsibilities. Second, be as authentic as possible. I like to be up front with people. Authenticity and transparency are key in our business. Third, listen. Demonstrate that you care about what they’re saying and that you’re willing to act on their information.

What was your first job? Lifeguard—that’s how I worked my way through high school and college.

What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve received? My junior high shop teacher gave me the best career advice. He said the day you’re ready to put your name on something and put it in the window, you’ll know you have the quality you want. For me, it was sort of profound because it’s all about the quality we provide to our firm and our clients. It’s about putting your own name on something and standing behind it. Then you’ll know you’ve done a good job.

What’s one thing you always have with you? My wedding ring. I never take it off.

What advice would you give yourself as a young professional? Work hard, but don’t take everything too seriously.

What’s the most influential book you’ve read? It’s a short read, but Who Moved My Cheese. It’s so relevant to our business and the way I try to lead. You always have to be thinking about the future and not be too comfortable.