Brubaker to part DOD for Commerce One

Paul Brubaker, the Defense Department's deputy chief information officer, is hanging up his government hat and moving to the private sector.

Brubaker said Tuesday that he'll become president of e-government services at Commerce One Inc., an electronic marketplace solutions company.

"This will be a global role where I will run their federal, state and local and international government work," he said.

Brubaker's last day at the Pentagon will be March 6, to be followed by a skiing trip. His new job at Commerce One begins March 19.

Brubaker's departure represents a reversal of strategies since it was disclosed in January that the Pentagon's entire office of the CIO would stay in place under the Bush administration, enabling DOD to continue its efforts to improve warfighter support using technology.

There has also been pressure to raise the CIO office to the undersecretary level because of the growing role of technology in defense strategy. But in January, Brubaker told a conference that the new administration "wanted to leave in place the people [who have] the expertise and who have been around for a while."