IRS selects Art Gonzalez as CIO

The Internal Revenue Service today announced that Art Gonzalez, deputy chief information officer, will become CIO effective next month. Gonzalez has been deputy CIO for two years. He replaces Richard Spires, who became deputy commissioner for operations support. Gonzalez will oversee strategic and operational responsibility for the IRS Modernization and Information Technology Services organization, which supports the federal tax administration system. The CIO organization oversees an annual budget of nearly $2 billion and a 7,000-person organization that maintains more than 400 systems and supports more than 100,000 IRS employees. As deputy CIO, Gonzalez oversees the IRS information technology functions and operations. At the same time, he has also served in a dual role as acting associate CIO for enterprise networks, managing the design and engineering of the IRS telecommunications environment. Gonzalez joined the service in September 2004 as deputy associate CIO for information technology services. In that capacity, he assisted in managing the IRS’ portfolio of IT operations. Before joining the IRS, he was CIO and senior vice president at Oxford Health Plans, where he oversaw all IT services for the company's business units and partners. Gonzalez has also held IT leadership positions at Kmart, Great Western Bank, Glendale Federal Bank, California Federal Bank and Western Airlines. In addition, the IRS announced other leadership changes. Longtime IRS career executive Richard Morgante, commissioner of the Wage and Investment division, is retiring, and Richard Byrd Jr. will replace him. Another career executive, Deborah Nolan, commissioner of the Large and Mid-Sized Business division, also will retire from the agency, and Frank Ng will take her place.