April marked a period of shifting chief information officer roles and positions, especially for IT leaders at the Department of Defense.
Air Force CIO promoted to Joint Staff position
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis promoted the Air Force’s CIO, Lt. Gen. Bradford Shwedo, to the position of director for command, control, communications and computers/cyber and chief information officer of the Joint Staff on April 25, 2018.
Shwedo became CIO of the Air Force in June 2017, prior to which, he served in various cyber and leadership positions.
Navy CIO office restructured
Under a recent restructuring initiative, the title of Navy CIO will be passed up to the under secretary of the Navy position, currently held by Thomas Modly, according to a memo released by the service’s current CIO Kelly Fletcher on April 16.
The under secretary will also hold the role of chief management officer, supported by four senior executives focusing on business system rationalization and modernization, development of a data strategy, improvement of audit outcomes and reform initiatives.
“I will continue supporting the DON by leading the CMO’s business system rationalization and modernization team, and I look forward to continuing to work with each of you,” Fletcher wrote.
Former Treasury CIO moves to Customs and Border Protection IT role
Sonny Bhagowalia, formerly the CIO at the Treasury Department and senior adviser on technology and cybersecurity at the Bureau of Fiscal Service, announced April 15, via LinkedIn that he would be joining CBP as the deputy assistant commissioner for the Office of Information Technology.
“I oversee all aspects of the cybersecurity program; the establishment of automated interfaces between CBP, other countries, various trade groups, and government agencies; and matters related to border security, trade, and mission support processing and systems development,” Bhagowalia wrote.
Jessie Bur covers federal IT and management.
