Longtime government official and recent General Services Administration innovation leader Kelly Olson has joined Adobe as head of industry strategy and marketing for public sector.
Olson, former acting director of GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, will focus on creating Adobe’s go-to-market strategy and messaging for digital experience in public sector, the company said. She will draw insight from how Adobe’s biggest commercial customers transformed the customer experience and use that to help government create more integrated digital experiences for its employees and Americans overall.
Olson spent 20 years supporting various public and private sector organizations, including Government Executive Media Group and the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council. She has expertise in strategy, public-private partnerships, communications, marketing and technology. At GSA, she played a key leadership role in efforts crucial to the development and adoption of governmentwide policies and programs focused on digital transformation, IT modernization and innovation.
“Throughout my career, I have experienced the power of what can be accomplished when government and industry come together to share experiences and build solutions together,” Olson said. “I’ve had the unique opportunity to do this from multiple vantage points, most recently at GSA, working collaboratively across government to transform how agencies build, buy and share technology to improve user experiences . . . Adobe is an incredibly innovative company that has been recognized globally as a leader in technology for building capabilities that have tremendous impact at scale for their customers. I’m excited by the opportunity to partner with the public sector to share this experience.”
Olson was one of WashingtonExec’s Top 25 Execs to Watch in 2019. Reflecting then on her GSA tenure, Olson said she had “poured my heart and soul into, accomplished a lot along the way, while working with and learning from diverse, talented and resilient colleagues.”