Former Veterans Affairs CIO Roger Baker Joins Agilex as Chief Strategy Officer

Three weeks after he left his job as assistant secretary for information and technology and chief information officer at the Veterans Affairs Department, Roger Baker signed on today to the newly created post as chief strategy officer for Agilex, a relatively small (400 employees) Chantilly, VA-based technology company whose focus includes health care and mobile computing.

Agilex co-founder and Vice Chairman Jay Nussbaum said Baker was one of the most transformative CIOs in government history. “Roger redefined technology’s role in the federal sector,” he said. “With his appointment, it should be clear that we are fully committed to our clients’ long-term and enduring success.”

In an interview, Baker said that while he could afford to sit on the beach for a while, he needs the mental challenge of a job. He intends to draw on his experience at VA where he pioneered the first large scale use of Apple iPad tablet computers in the federal government.

He said he is both “interested and wary” about pursuing opportunities with electronic health records at the Defense Department and the VA, and quickly added, “If I could not figure out how to navigate the field as assistant secretary, I don’t know if I can figure it out here.”

Baker said he would use his new position at Agilex to help other government agencies achieve better results with technology. 

He said he started talking to Agilex after he announced plans to resign in mid-February, and immediately recused himself from any  dealings with the company. A 47-page ethics agreement with VA governs his relationship with the department, he said.