Tom White
Senior Director of Public Sector Partnerships, Chainguard
Chainguard’s biggest recent achievement was launching its Government Partner Program in February, Tom White said. In just six months, the program become a cornerstone of Chainguard’s public sector strategy, driving strong demand and some of the company’s largest government deals. It already established durable partnerships and customer relationships across federal, defense, civilian and state and local agencies.
Chainguard directly supports administration priorities by helping government customers and contractors focus on higher-value software engineering work. By sharply reducing the time agencies spend remediating open-source vulnerabilities, Chainguard’s trusted open-source stack enables teams to move from reactive maintenance to mission delivery. Customers using Chainguard get their solutions to mission faster and more securely at a fraction of the cost of handling remediation themselves.
“Securing the software supply chain has become a central pillar of federal and DoD policy, and Tom’s work has positioned Chainguard exactly where our customers need us,” said Ken Melero, regional vice president, US public sector at Chainguard. “His leadership in building the partner program ensures that government agencies and contractors have a trusted path to meeting emerging requirements. He has been instrumental in aligning Chainguard’s capabilities to the future of software development in the U.S. government.”
Why Watch
In early 2025, Chainguard focused on educating the public sector about software supply chain security, building early customer momentum and establishing a trusted brand. Less than a year later, that topic has shifted from a niche concern to a core requirement across government and DOD policy. In 2026, every company developing software for the U.S. government will be required to meet new security mandates, and Chainguard is laser-focused on supporting them.
“When joining a company, people often get enamored with the technology but it’s the team that makes the business,” White said. “I joined Chainguard because I wanted to work with Ken Melero and Dan Lorenc. Yes, the technology is awesome and makes a significant impact on our customers every day, but it’s the team behind that technology that makes this company great.”
Fun fact: White loves cooking breakfast for his family. He sees it as a chance to put everything else aside and focus entirely on them and the conversation. Weekend favorites: eggs over-medium, bacon, toast with cherry jam and great coffee.