Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Former Commerce CIO Tapped For VA Post

President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated Roger Baker -- former CEO of Dataline Inc., a mid-sized technology company headquartered in Norfolk, Va. -- to become assistant secretary for information and technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This is familiar territory for Baker, who served as chief information officer for the Commerce Department from 1998 to 2001. Prior to joining the federal government in 1998, Baker had an extensive career with software and Internet technology firms, including leading the development of Internet and online banking systems at Visa International, according to a bio provided by the White House.

Baker left the private sector in May 2008 to volunteer on Obama's campaign, serving on the technology, media, and telecommunications policy group. After the president's election, Baker served on the technology, innovation, and government reform and the VA review teams for the transition team. Baker is active in the federal technology community, and has written extensively on improving the management and results of the government's IT investments. He was vice chair of the Industry Advisory Council's Transition Study Group, and a co-author of the group's capstone paper entitled "Returning Innovation to the Federal Government with Information Technology."

The VA's IT infrastructure has been in the spotlight since May 2006 when a laptop computer containing the social security numbers of 26.5 million U.S. veterans was stolen from an analyst's home. Several months later, a computer containing the personal information of up to 38,000 veterans went missing. The computers have since been recovered but the agency has been under a microscope by members of Congress. In the final years of the Bush administration, VA IT chief Robert Howard appeared on Capitol Hill routinely to discuss the agency's efforts to streamline and secure its technology.