John M. (Jack) Pellegrino

Jack has over four decades of Government contracting and supply chain experience leading diverse teams of contracting, procurement, and pricing staff in both the public and private sectors. For the past 12 years, Jack served as the Director of Pur-chasing and Contacting for the County of San Diego which is the second most populous county in California, and the fifth in the United States serving over 3.3 million residents. His team awarded over 1,200 new contracts a year in support of the County’s 40+ departments, with a procurement spend exceeding $2 billion, and with over 90% competitively solicited and awarded.

Before joining the county, Jack held executive roles in the private sector, supporting government customers. He is a Past President of the California Association of Public Procurement Officials (CAPPO) and an active member of The Institute for Public Procurement (NIGP) and the National Contracts Management Association (NCMA). He was a founding member of the National Association of Counties (NACo) Public Promise Procurement Advisory Board, formed to strengthen public entities' purchasing power providing best-in-class cooperative contracts for goods and services for public agencies.
Recently, Jack was asked to serve on the Standards Consensus Body (SCB) formed by NCMA and World Commerce & Contracting to create a globally accessible standard for contract management. This historic effort includes procurement and contracting professionals worldwide to ensure the Contract Management Standard® (CMS™) is reflective and accessible worldwide for all contract management practice areas.

Professional awards include: Inaugural 2015 Walt Ekard Integrity in Action Award; 2016 County of San Diego CAO Excellence in Leadership Award; and 2020 CSAC County Procurement Executive of the Year for the Southern Region; and 2023 Public Agency of the Year, MVP Business Inclusion, for the Southeastern Live Well Center awarded by the National Black Contractors Association of U.S.A. (NBCA).

Jack holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas; a Master of Science degree in Procurement & Acquisition Management from Northrop University (Northrop Rice Aviation Institute); and an Advanced Specialization Certification in Government Contract Management from UCLA.