He held positions in the George W. Bush White House, including in the United States Department of Commerce.

[citation needed] Gallagher served as administrative assistant to Washington Congressman Rick White and co-chaired the government relations practice group at the law firm of Perkins Coie.

[10] On May 17, 2007, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) named Gallagher as their 2nd president, replacing founder Doug Lowenstein.

[11] He stepped down in October 2018 following an internal investigation led by Robert Altman and Phil Spencer, then the chair and vice-chair of the ESA's board of directors, respectively.

[12][13] In 2019, Variety reported that Gallagher had lost the confidence of the board over a number of related issues in the preceding years.