John Crawford

As the Managing Director of Plant Operations, John Crawford is responsible for leading a manufacturing and technology business unit comprised of three major organizations: Production, Operations Support, and Quality Control and Inventory Management. The Production Department publishes essential government documents such as the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, President's Budget and legislative documents such as bills, hearings and reports. The Operations Support Department manages and maintains agency buildings, machinery and equipment to provide a productive and safe working environment for all GPO employees. The Quality Control and Inventory Management Department is responsible for the printing plant's receiving, warehousing, shipping and quality testing functions.

Crawford brings more than 50 years of experience and knowledge to the position of Managing Director of Plant Operations. He started in the printing trade in 1958 and joined GPO in 1966 as a journeyperson bookbinder where one of his first jobs was producing secure test forms for the U.S. Air Force. Crawford was promoted to his first management position in 1972 and was responsible for coordinating and overseeing the production of President Nixon's inaugural materials. In the 1980s, Crawford led the team to automate the passport binding process, which was previously done by hand. As technology has advanced and GPO’s workforce has decreased, Crawford has worked with GPO management to combine and reorganize plant departments to maintain efficiency and to continue to meet the needs of Congress, Federal agencies, and the public. Crawford served as Superintendent of the Binding Division for 14 years and was most recently promoted to Production Manager in 2007 where he has been responsible for overseeing the production of Presidential Inauguration materials, the President's Budget, The Congressional Record, The Federal Register, and legislative bills, hearings and reports. Throughout his years of service, Crawford has worked on secure projects, including the implementation of the electronic passport, and contributed to the agency's transition into the digital age. He is one of three generations of Crawford's to work at GPO. By operation of GPO's internal directive on succession, on April 1, 2019 Crawford became GPO's Acting Deputy Director and served in that capacity until May 2020.