Mark Knowles

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT MARK KNOWLES

I advise companies and leadership teams on how to build disciplined, scalable success in government contracting.My work focuses on helping organizations understand how government actually functions — from home rule governance and procurement structures to budgeting cycles, political oversight, and administrative decision-making. I work alongside executives to evaluate opportunity pipelines, refine market positioning, strengthen proposal strategy, and align internal operations with the realities of public-sector contracting.Over the course of my career, I have served on more than 400 public-sector consulting engagements across 36 states, including classification and compensation studies, organizational design, performance management systems, productivity reviews, staffing assessments, succession planning, and indirect cost analysis. This experience gives me a practical, inside-out understanding of how state and local governments make purchasing decisions.I am a co-founder and President of GovDirections LLC, a research-as-a-service firm supporting more than members globally. GovDirections aggregates and delivers RFPs, RFQs, ITBs, and other procurement opportunities while maintaining strict independence from issuing agencies. Our model is intentionally member-focused, providing market intelligence, advisory services, and experiential learning tools through GovSchool and GovAdvice to help organizations navigate the fragmented landscape of public procurement.In addition to my consulting practice, I serve as an Instructor in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs, where I teach Bids and Contracting (PADP 8470).Earlier in my career, I served as a Legislative Liaison for the Georgia Municipal Association, representing municipal finance and tax policy before Congress and the Georgia General Assembly. I also founded GovernmentBids.com, which was successfully acquired and later sold to a publicly traded company.My career has been built at the intersection of government operations and private-sector execution. Today, I work with organizations that are serious about building a long-term public-sector strategy — not simply chasing bids, but understanding the system and positioning themselves to compete intelligently within it.