US government department announces new chief information officer
David De Vries today joins the US government’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as the new permanent chief information officer, after serving 35 years in the defence department.
His most recent role at the Department of Defense (DoD) was principal deputy chief information officer, as part of which he was responsible for information management, information technology and information assurance, as well as non-intelligence space systems; critical satellite communications, navigation, and timing programs; spectrum; and telecommunications.
In May 2009, he was appointed deputy CIO for information enterprise at DoD, where he was responsible for integrating departmental policies and guidance to create information advantages for department personnel and organisations, and DoD mission partners.
Since August 2010, DeVries had been deeply involved in several efforts including moving the department towards adopting a Joint Information Enterprise (JIE) based on a single DoD-wide IT architecture; and leading an initiative for improved DoD – Veterans Affairs electronic health record exchange capability; expanding cloud adoption and mobile communications capabilities; and establishing key enabling capabilities to achieve the DoD Information Enterprise.
De Vries was also influential in the Defense Department’s cybersecurity initiatives.
DeVries holds a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
He is also a graduate of the Army Senior Service College and served as a Corporate Fellow with IBM Business Consulting Services while participating in the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellowship Program.
Beth Cobert, acting director of the OPM – the government agency in charge of managing the federal civil service, said: “I’m elated that David has decided to join our team here at OPM.
“David has decades worth of the technical and management experience necessary to hit the ground running as we continue our technology transformation efforts, and work with our partners at DoD to stand up the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB).”
NBIB’s information technology systems will be designed, built, secured, and operated by DoD, the government announced in January.
This, the government says, will leverage DoD’s national security, IT, and cybersecurity expertise, incorporating security into the fundamental design of the systems, strengthening the security of the data environment, and providing robust privacy protections.
De Vries will lead this transition as well as continued implementation of OPM’s overall IT infrastructure and cybersecurity improvement plan.
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See also:
Michelle Fitzgerald, chief digital officer, City of Melbourne: interview
Colin MacDonald, CIO for the government of New Zealand: Exclusive Interview
Mike Bracken, former head of the Government Digital Service (GDS): Exclusive interview
About Winnie Agbonlahor
Winnie is news editor of Global Government Forum. She previously reported for Civil Service World - the trade magazine for senior UK government officials. Originally from Germany, Winnie first came to the UK in 2006 to study a BA in Journalism & Russian at the University of Sheffield. She is bilingual in English and German, and, after spending an academic year abroad in Russia and reporting for the Moscow Times, Winnie also speaks Russian fluently.
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