CIO at IRS returning to industry

John Reece, who has been chief information officer at the Internal Revenue Service for the past two years, announced last week that he is leaving government to return to the private sector.

Reece informed his staff of the decision last week, an agency spokesman confirmed. Officials could not say what his next step will be.

He started at the IRS in 2001, coming out of retirement to help head the agency's massive business systems modernization program. The modernization has hit bumps and has had successes, but Reece has been recognized in many ways for his efforts to keep the program on track.

Only a few years into its 15-year schedule, the IRS modernization is the basis for some of the Bush administration's most high-profile e-government initiatives: providing free online tax filing to a majority of citizens and electronic filing to the business community.

Reece previously served as managing partner for Booz Allen Hamilton's information technology practice in the Midwest. He also has held positions at IBM Corp. and the company that formerly was Time Warner Inc.