Mason’s partnership with CGI grows stronger each year

CGI Group Inc. is one of the world’s largest information technology and business process service firms specializing in providing effective IT solutions for federal government agencies. It is also a long-time George Mason University partner and supporter of the College of Engineering and Computing and the Costello College of Business. 

CGI is the professional home for more than 250 Mason alumni, including Mason Board of Visitors Rector Horace Blackman, BA ’93, who is the senior vice president and lead of CGI Federal’s Defense, Intelligence, and Space business unit.

George Mason hosted CGI leadership, employees, and Mason alumni at the Center of the Arts on Mason’s Fairfax Campus before the men’s basketball team played Duquesne at EagleBank Arena on March 2.

“I am always excited about this partnership,” said Mason President Gregory Washington. “We chose to engage with CGI because the principles that you all believe in are the core principles of this institution.”

“The continued partnership between CGI and Mason has been amazing and has made such a difference in continuing to build for the next generation,” said Trishana E. Bowden, president of the George Mason University Foundation and vice president for advancement and alumni relations.

More than 200 alumni and friends were present at the CGI at Mason event, including George Schindler, CGI’s president and chief executive officer, who received a Mason men’s basketball jersey at the pre-game reception.

“I am glad to be part of Mason’s vision and glad to give back and have an opportunity to reconnect with other alums,” said Pablo Ayala, BS Finance ’06, the finance director and business unit controller at CGI.

Events such as the one on March 2 allow alumni to hear about Mason’s latest accomplishments, while presenting them with ways they can continue to support their university. “It is amazing to see other alumni and to see that the Mason traditions are still alive and well,” said Brooke McGee-Ayala, JD ’16.

President Washington expressed appreciation for Mason’s and CGI’s longstanding partnership. “The success of this company is indisputably tied to the success of this institution,” he said. To the alumni, he added: “You all are our greatest ambassadors.”