Grady Paul Gaston

Grady Paul Gaston, III, from Huntsville, Alabama, is an esteemed software engineer and entrepreneur with over thirty years of industry experience. He founded a defense contracting company in 1990 and a digital signature company in 1995, holding leadership roles for over sixteen years. His companies are well-regarded for innovative solutions to complex problems for government and commercial clients. Gaston's career in technology began while working as a courier for the Computer Sciences Corporation during his studies at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. He quickly developed a passion for programming, learning from operators, and eventually handling emergencies. This led to a role as a programmer and later, while still in college, becoming the youngest software analyst at the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He earned a dual Bachelor of Science in Finance and Management from the University of Alabama, Huntsville, and a Master of Science in Software Engineering from the Southeastern Institute of Technology. Gaston is also a Certified Data Processor and has received several accolades, including the University of Alabama Huntsville Lifetime Achievement Award. Gaston developed a financial management system that became the standard for the Department of Defense, consistently passing the CFO Act of 1990 for fifteen consecutive years without any exceptions. He was also a pioneer in digital signatures and smart card technology. He began his innovative work in 1991 with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). His digital signature software has been widely adopted within the Department of Defense, serving over four million users. His implementation of digital signatures at the US Army Corps of Engineers was a significant achievement, overcoming many bureaucratic and technical challenges. This system was later adopted by the US State Department and the US Census Bureau, which led to the development of DBsign.