Mr. Chris Grassano became the Deputy Joint Program Executive Officer (JPEO) for the Joint Program Executive Office Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A) in March 2020. In this role, he provides executive leadership to efforts developing and procuring leap-ahead munitions that increase the joint Warfighter's combat power. He also provides oversight for the life cycle management and sustainment of Army weapon systems and equipment from research and development through test and evaluation, acquisition, logistics, fielding, and disposition.

His preceding assignment was the Director for Talent Management and the Director for the Senior Service College Fellowship at Picatinny (SSCF-P). His responsibilities included setting the vision and strategy of acquisition workforce development for the JPEO A&A and other tenant organizations at Picatinny Arsenal. Additionally, he established and served as the Director for the SSCF-P and served as a mentor, developing guidance, programs and tools for employees on the path to senior leadership.
Prior to this, Mr. Grassano served as the Acting Deputy Program Executive Officer Ammunition (Dec 2017 – Nov 2018). He served as the Chief of Staff for the PEO for Ammunition (2010 – 2017) with responsibility to assist in the execution of all PEO matters and for directing, planning, managing and evaluating the PEO's staff activities. He was centrally board selected and starting in 2007 served for three years as the Project Manager for Maneuver Ammunition Systems (PM MAS) at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ where he was responsible for equipping US and Allied Warfighters with world class direct fire combat and training ammunition through strategic life-cycle management.
Prior to this position he served as the Acting Product Manager and the Deputy Product Manager for the joint international Excalibur program. Prior career assignments in Arlington, Virginia include Staff Assistant to the Deputy Director, Land Warfare, Office of the Secretary of Defense and Department of the Army Systems Coordinator, Office of the Secretary of the Army.

Mr. Grassano started his Department of the Army civilian career in 1986 and was the Lead Project Engineer at the U.S. Army Armament, Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), where he designed, produced and tested high-g telemetry systems for smart munition systems. Then, after spending time as a Project Management Engineer in the Program Manager’s Office, Sense and Destroy Armor (SADARM), he served as the PM Field Office representative at the prime contractor’s facility in Azusa, California.

Mr. Grassano received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology; a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Florida Institute of Technology; a Master of Science in Management from Florida Institute of Technology; and a Master’s degree in National
Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University. He has completed the Harvard University Leadership for Senior Executives program and is a graduate of the advanced Program Management Course, Defense Systems Management College. He is a member of the Army Acquisition Corps and a graduate of the Competitive Development Group. Mr. Grassano is a level III certified acquisition professional in three career fields: Program Management: Test and Evaluation; and Systems Planning, Research, Development and Engineering.

Mr. Grassano’s awards and decorations include the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence, the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, (2) Superior Civilian Service Awards, and a Value Engineering Award. He has also received the David Packard Award for Excellence in Acquisition, Army Acquisition Excellence Team Award for Equipping and Sustaining Soldiers, the National Defense Industrial Association Firepower Management Award and is a recipient of the Honorable Order of St. Barbara given by the United States Field Artillery Association.