A Technology Leader's Unconventional Career Path

How do you become a technology leader at a global Fortune 500 company? And from there, how do you make the leap to lead an innovation and technology team that’s nearly 500 members strong—and growing? 

Principal Ed Barnabas’ path to becoming a leader at Booz Allen had many twists and turns. Starting as an aspiring musician, he now focuses on the development, adoption, and deployment of advanced technology.

Read on for insights from Barnabas on his non-traditional career path to Booz Allen, the critical solutions he’s bringing to clients in the Indo-Pacific region from Booz Allen’s Honolulu office, and how he learned to “get out of the way” in leading his team to success.

Barnabas originally went to college for music, but he worried about his career prospects. “From there I made a not-so-conventional pivot into philosophy, then government and politics, and then played music professionally. Here I am over 20 years later,” he said. 

Today Barnabas is Booz Allen’s Indo-Pacific chief technology officer based out of the firm’s Honolulu office. It’s a critical location as the threat of adversaries increases. Barnabas and his team are focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology defense solutions to ensure the U.S. joint force can maintain advantage in the information-centric digital battlespace. These solutions center on all domain command and control (C2), next-gen data systems, AI, security cooperation, and mission partner environments.

Booz Allen Hawaii leads the way in meeting critical Indo-Pacific missions with clients like INDOPACOM and supports federal, Department of Defense (DOD), and civilian agencies in the islands as well as in Australia, Guam, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Alaska. The firm has had a presence in Hawaii since 1961 when Booz Allen worked with Kamehameha Schools to develop a strategy for the future—aligned with the mission of Barnabas’ team to this day: helping clients adopt new technologies and stay on the cutting edge.

Last year, Barnabas played a key role in the opening of a new office in Honolulu, including an AI & Innovation Lab. The relocation to the new 24,000-square-foot facility follows nearly 10% year-over-year growth, with goals to continue expanding in the city and region.

As the Honolulu office and his career have grown, Barnabas has been guided by curiosity, diversity, critical thinking, and a growth mindset—traits he looks for in his team members as well. 

“One of the best technical managers I worked with spent 6 years in the Peace Corps,” he said. “Another had majored in English and writing. The best and most successful teams have diversity in their skill sets, behaviors, and voices.”  

A key focus of Barnabas’ leadership in Hawaii is working to develop the future tech pipeline of talent— especially those based on-island. He frequently represents Booz Allen at industry events, job fairs, and community engagements—sharing his career trajectory and emphasizing that you don’t necessarily have to have a traditional IT background to find a career path in this sector. “You have to genuinely find tech cool! And be curious about how it impacts our interactions with each other and the world around us.  Then you can learn the technology.”

One common question he gets from students is about federal fluency—many ask, “How do I find a job in federal consulting with no government experience?” 

Though some may be hesitant to pursue a job in federal consulting with no government experience, Barnabas believes people from all backgrounds can be of value. He explained that many client problems, such as tech adoption, change management, culture change, modernization, and cost management, are universal and can be solved using tools and tactics that don’t necessarily come from government experience. It’s about having empathy and understanding how to get to the core problem—and then bringing creative people and the right technology to find the solution.

“Everywhere you go, you’ll need to learn something new, so be confident in the skills you bring to the table,” he advised. “The things you don’t know you’ll gain through experience, and the areas where you need to learn will become opportunities to grow.”