Ad Hoc

Ad Hoc's journey began in the crucible of a national crisis: the challenging launch of HealthCare.gov in October 2013. It was during this period that future co-founders, Greg Gershman and Paul Smith, then part of a small group of technologists brought in by the White House, first collaborated. Their task was to work alongside government staff and contractors to rescue the failing website. The name 'Ad Hoc' itself emerged organically from this experience. In a high-stakes meeting with various executives, needing to define their role without appearing to be direct presidential envoys, one of them introduced the team as 'from the ad hoc team' – a perfect description of their purpose-driven assembly for the rescue effort. This spirit of focused, collaborative problem-solving became the bedrock of the company they would soon found.

In 2014, Ad Hoc LLC was officially established by Gershman and Smith, driven by the desire to bring modern digital expertise to government projects. They had witnessed firsthand the consequences of a lack of specialized skills in design, engineering, and operations within government technology initiatives and were determined to bridge that gap. The company's mission crystallized around helping the federal government better serve its people by transforming public services into effective digital services. Ad Hoc champions a vision of closing the gap between consumer expectations, shaped by the seamless experiences of private sector technology, and the often-clunky reality of government digital services. This involves bringing together experts from both commercial industry and government to apply modern skills, including human-centered design, agile development, and DevOps, to create software that is not just functional but exceptional. Over the years, Ad Hoc has grown significantly, now employing over 500 people and serving numerous government agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Despite its growth, the company maintains a commitment to small, cross-functional teams, believing this structure fosters innovation and empowers employees to deliver impactful solutions. Ad Hoc's remote-first approach from its inception has allowed it to build a diverse, nationwide team of talented technologists dedicated to improving how the government serves the public.