Wennergren named CIO Council vice chairman

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 19, 2006, to add a quote from Dan Matthews.

David Wennergren, the Navy Department’s chief information officer, is the new vice chairman of the CIO Council. He was named to the post yesterday.

Wennergren has worked at Navy Department for more than 25 years and has been its CIO since 2002. Wennergren was serving as co-chairman of the CIO Council Best Practices Committee.

Dan Matthews, former CIO at the Transportation Department, was the council's vice chairman. He returned to the private sector in December.

“I think Dave Wennergren is an excellent choice as a new vice chair,” said Matthews, adding that Wennergren’s leadership on the council has been exemplary.

“I am pleased the federal CIO Council elected Dave to this position,” said Clay Johnson, Office of Management and Budget deputy director for management and chairman of the federal CIO Council, in a statement. “His leadership and insight will be essential as we continue to deliver results for the American taxpayer by achieving the goals of the President’s Management Agenda.”

Wennergren has championed such projects as the departmentwide Common Access Card program, designed to equip 4.5 million employees with smart identity cards. In the Navy, he initiated enterprisewide license agreements, which will eventually save the service hundreds of millions of dollars on the purchase of software ranging from desktop computer operating systems to graphic design packages.

Reporting directly to the secretary of the Navy, Wennergren also provides top-level advocacy in the development and use of information management and information technology and the creation of a unified vision for the Navy-Marine Corps team.

“The federal CIO Council plays a crucial role in championing and aligning the transformation efforts of federal agencies. I am excited about the opportunity to serve as vice chair of the council, and I look forward to continuing to work with the CIO community, OMB and industry to further the strategic use of information technology in delivering improved services to our citizens and the nation,” said Wennergren, a two-time recipient of the Federal Computer Week FED 100 Award.

Wennergren is also chairman of the Department of Defense Identity Protection and Management Senior Coordinating Group, which provides senior oversight and coordination of biometric, smart card, and public-key infrastructure initiatives throughout DOD.