Federal CIO Council to get new vice chairman

Richard Spires, CIO of the Homeland Security Department, has been elected vice chairman of the Federal CIO Council, which focuses on improving the effectiveness of federal CIOs. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra announced the development at a recent AFCEA-Bethesda conference.

The CIO Council was created by executive order a decade ago to bring CIOs together to implement e-government programs and deal with cross-cutting issues. It is chaired by Jeffrey Zients, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget. The vice chairman is elected by the membership.

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Spires, a recipient of FCW's Federal 100 award in 2010, will continue his duties as CIO at the Homeland Security Department, where he has been since September 2009.

Spires previously served as chairman of the CIO Council’s Management Best Practices Committee. The current co-chairs of the best practices committee are Michael Locatis III, CIO of the Energy Department; Chris Smith, CIO of the Agriculture Department; and Teri Takai, CIO of the Defense Department.