President Donald Trump plans to appoint Suzette Kent as administrator of the U.S. Office of Electronic Government, according to a Jan. 26 announcement from the White House.
The administrator of the Office of Electronic Government, a role also known as the U.S. CIO, oversees IT policy for government agencies and leads the Federal CIO Council. The Office of Electronic Government is part of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
Ms. Kent is a principal at business consulting firm Ernst & Young. She previously served as a partner at Accenture, consulting president at Carreker Corp. and a managing director at J.P. Morgan.
"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," the White House statement reads.
The federal CIO role has sat vacant for more than a year, FedScoop notes. Margie Graves, deputy federal CIO, has held the position in an acting capacity since former CIO Tony Scott stepped down at the end of the Obama administration.
Obama-era federal CIOs supported the troubled Healthcare.gov launch and encouraged use of two-factor authentication across federal networks. Under the Trump administration, Ms. Kent will likely take on responsibilities related to cloud adoption and cybersecurity, according to FCW.
Federal CIO is a political appointment that does not require confirmation from the U.S. Senate.