Acting CIO named for Agriculture

David Combs will be the Agriculture Department’s new acting chief information officer, USDA Secretary Michael Johanns announced today.

Combs is the Agriculture Department's acting deputy CIO. He will fill in for Scott Charbo, whom President Bush nominated this week to be the Homeland Security Department’s new CIO.

Jerry Williams, the Small Business Administration’s acting CIO, will take over for Combs as USDA's acting deputy CIO, USDA officials said yesterday.

Combs has been the department’s acting deputy CIO since June 2004. He joined USDA in June 2002 as special assistant to the department’s administrator of the Rural Utilities Service. In July 2003 he became special assistant to the CIO and was responsible for several information technology investment projects at the agency.

From 1969 to 1992, he worked for AT&T and reached high-level management and IT positions. From 1993 to 2002 he was owner of Combs Music, an independent record company specializing in instrumental piano music.