Health and Human Services Department CIO Beth Killoran is leaving her post to join the Office of the Surgeon General at HHS and develop a comprehensive information systems strategic plan for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, an HHS official told Federal News Radio.
Ed Simcox, HHS' chief technology officer, will serve as acting CIO until Ms. Killoran's replacement is found. Mr. Simcox has been the CTO at HHS since July, after first taking on the role in an acting capacity in May. He had served as deputy CTO since July 2017.
"[Mr.] Simcox has led multiple, large IT transformation efforts, both as an industry executive and consultant," the HHS official said. "As HHS' CTO, he leads HHS' efforts on enterprise data management, data sharing, technology-related healthcare innovation and public-private partnerships."
Ms. Killoran has served as HHS CIO since July 2016, after serving in the Homeland Security Department since October 2014. During her tenure at HHS, Ms. Killoran helped update the strategic plan and led a more aggressive push toward cloud adoption. Most recently, she spearheaded a reorganization of the CIO's office and appointed Todd Simpson as the first chief product officer promoting innovation.
Ms. Killoran's reassignment marks the fourth major agency CIO move during the Trump administration, according to Federal News Radio. Previous CIO reassignments include Treasury Department CIO Sanjeev Bhagowalia, former Agriculture Department CIO Jonathan Alboum and Federal Emergency Management Agency CIO Adrian Gardner, DPA.