After a year without a U.S. chief information officer, President Donald Trump announced plans to appoint Suzette Kent to the position.
As administrator of the Office of Electronic Government in the Office of Management and Budget, Kent would manage federal IT spending and policy. She would also oversee the chief information security officer, a role that's currently vacant.
Unlike the previous federal CIO, Tony Scott, who left the post at the end of President Barack Obama's presidency, Kent would not be coming to the role from a technology company. Before becoming CIO, Scott was at VMware and Microsoft, whereas Kent currently works for professional services firm EY (formerly Ernst & Young), where she focuses on financial services. Earlier, she was a managing director at JPMorgan and a partner at Accenture.
"Although technology change has been at the core of her professional career, retooling the workforce and creating new opportunities for people has been an essential element of efforts that she has led," according to a White House statement.
Kent would be taking over from Margie Graves, former deputy CIO, who's been acting federal CIO since Scott resigned. The position of CIO has languished in federal agencies since Trump took office, with acting CIOs currently serving in the VA, and the Defense, State and Agriculture departments.
