GSA officially appoints Michael Lynch as deputy administrator 

The General Services Administration officially appointed business executive Michael Lynch as the agency’s next deputy administrator after previously serving in a similar role. 

GSA Administrator Ed Forst announced the appointment in a press release Tuesday, stating Lynch “demonstrated exceptional business acumen, strong leadership, and a clear track record of results.” 

“In addition to serving as the agency’s chief operating officer, Mike will lead the development and execution of GSA’s performance culture, oversee the delivery of our automation initiatives, and champion the agencywide artificial intelligence strategy,” Forst added. 

Lynch served as a senior advisor under former acting GSA Administrator Stephen Ehikian during the first two months of the Trump administration before Ehikian “delegated the responsibilities” of deputy administrator to Lynch last March, per the press release. In July, he returned to the role as a senior adviser. 

Prior to his time at GSA, Lynch served as the chief executive officer at Zedsen, a U.K.-based medical technology company using artificial intelligence in early-stage cancer detection. He held other leadership roles at pharma giant Eli Lilly, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and other technology companies, the GSA said. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College and graduate degrees from Indiana University and the London School of Economics. 

Forst, who was sworn in as administrator last month, said he has “full confidence” in Lynch’s ability to do the role. 

Lynch will fill the role once held by Ehikian, who served as GSA’s acting and deputy administrator until July, when President Donald Trump tapped Michael Rigas, who held another role in the State Department at the time, to serve as acting administrator. Ehikian, who continued served as deputy administrator, departed the GSA in September to take over as CEO at the enterprise AI application software company C3 AI.