Wennergren, Ballmer receive Azimuth awards

David Wennergren, deputy chief information officer at the Defense Department, received the 2008 Azimuth award for government April 1 from the CIO Council, and Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive officer, received the council's award for industry. “It’s been a fascinating career,” Wennergren said in accepting the award. He said it’s “like so cool” to work with energetic young people, the council's members and leaders in the information technology community. Karen Evans, administrator for e-government and information technology at the Office of Management and Budget, said Wennergren is a voice of reason on the council when OMB officials share their thoughts with the members. Ballmer said he was honored by the award and thanked the council in a taped acceptance speech.Clay Johnson, OMB’s deputy director for management, said Ballmer has a can-do attitude with a lot of energy, and he helps government work better and faster. The annual Azimuth awards highlight the lifetime achievements of two individuals, one in the public sector and one in the private sector, for their success and continued support of the government IT community. The azimuth is a mathematical concept often used in navigation, mapping and astronomy. Azimuths also help to determine the direction in which to fly aircraft. Evans gave out a bit of trivia from Wikipedia’s entry for azimuth. “Pink Floyd once used a sound-altering device called an Azimuth Coordinator in concerts," she read. "The device can be heard on the bootleg recording of their 1970 Amsterdam concert.”