CIV Stephen Bowdren

Mr. Stephen Bowdren leads the USMC’s only Program Executive Office at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. His team of Marines and Civilian Marine acquisition professionals, across eight program offices with 64 programs, develops, delivers, and sustains over $19.6B in lethal capabilities for the world’s preeminent fighting force, the United States Marine Corps.

Appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2015, Mr. Bowdren served as the Executive Director of the Navy’s International Programs Office from 2019 to 2022, overseeing the Department of the Navy’s Foreign Military Sales, Cooperative Acquisition, and Technology Security and Foreign Disclosure programs. Prior to that assignment, he oversaw the Department of Navy’s TS&FD Directorate, coordinating releasability issues within the DON and with interagency stakeholders. In these and other positions, Mr. Bowdren spearheaded the development and implementation of several enterprise-wide security cooperation business and process management tools, including the Strategic International Acquisition planning process and the Navy’s Case Execution Performance Tool. He was NIPO’s inaugural Lean Six Sigma Deployment Champion and Black Belt and served in the same position for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

A retired naval surface warfare officer, Mr. Bowdren also qualified as a Joint Specialty Officer and a Strategic Planning subspecialist. His ashore tours included service as European Command’s Sub-Saharan Africa Politico-Military Action Officer, Surface Warfare Requirements Officer on the Pacific Fleet Staff, and propulsion plant examiner on the Atlantic Fleet Staff.

Mr. Bowdren holds degrees from the University of Connecticut (B.A. History, summa cum laude), Georgetown University (M.A. National Security Studies), and the Naval War College Command and Staff College. He is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. Professional certifications include Defense Acquisition Corps Program Manager Level III, Business Financial Manager Level I, Certified Defense Financial Manager, International Affairs Certified Level III and Security Cooperation Workforce qualified. He is a recipient of the Department of the Navy’s Meritorious and Superior Civilian Service Awards.