Treasury losing IT decision-makers

The Treasury Department is experiencing a major drain of management talent from its information technology office.

In a remarkably short time, Treasury has lost five top IT officials at a critical period when parts of the agency are slated to move under the umbrella of the proposed Homeland Security Department.

Among those departing are:

* Edward Kingman Jr., the assistant secretary for management and the chief financial officer.

* Mayi Canales, the acting chief information officer.

* Jim Flyzik, the longtime Treasury CIO who had been detailed to the Office of Homeland Security.

* Flyzik's deputy, Jane Sullivan.

* Fred Thompson, the assistant director for consulting and marketing at the Treasury CIO office.

"Whole chunks of the decision-making operatives are leaving government," Mark Forman, associate director for information technology and e-government at the Office of Management and Budget, said at the Government CIO Summit, sponsored by FCW Media Group in Fort Myers, Fla.

Each of the departing Treasury officials had a particular reason for leaving, including such factors as age, career cycles and a desire to move into the private sector. Forman said the IT workforce in the federal government is in transition, and those in political positions rarely stay in the job more than 12 to 18 months.

"If you look at the talent, there is still a substantial amount of talent we're going to continue to mine," Forman, said in an interview Nov. 11.

In wake of the departures, a career officer, Mike Parker, has been named the acting CIO, and Ronald Miller, former FEMA CIO now on detail at the Office of Homeland Security, is the leading candidate for the CIO job.