Linda Cureton's next move

Linda Cureton concluded her tenure as NASA's Chief Information Officer on April 3 and wasted little time forging her next mission as CEO of a new IT consulting company called Muse Technologies, Inc.

Cureton told FCW that she planned to launch the company at midnight on April 4 through her various social media accounts, the company's website – www.muse-technologies.com – and through a YouTube trailer.

Muse Technologies will provide IT consulting, strategy planning and program management to public- and private-sector organizations throughout the lifecycle of IT projects, Cureton said, with an emphasis on IT transformation.

The company will perform "the entire lifecycle of transformation," Cureton added, from leadership development, facilitating the creation of emergent strategies and the programmatic oversight of transformation projects. It will help customers sort through the IT hype and leverage innovation to impact business and mission outcomes.

"I am excited about entering a market where so few companies support the entire lifecycle of transformation," Cureton said. "My dream is to have an impact, change lives, and make a difference through inspired IT-enabled leadership."

Cureton's company will operate out of Prince George's County in Maryland, and will be anchored by three other corporate officers, including her husband, Doug – all of whom have experience in the public and private sectors.

Cureton announced her pending retirement from public service in early 2013 after a 34-year career as a civil servant, including the last three years as NASA's CIO and prior stops along the way at the Departments of Energy and Justice, the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

When she initially decided to retire, Cureton said she briefly considered working in industry but eventually came around to the idea of starting her own business -- despite it being the riskier move with sequestration looming and many agencies in the public sector strapped for cash.

"I thought through it, about what I really wanted to do, and I came up thinking I wanted to continue making a difference and work with the people I love, doing what I'm passionate about," said Cureton. She also noted that owning her own business gives her freedom to pursue other interests, like writing another book.

"Some things going on right now certainly are scary," Cureton said. But I look at it and have faith in what I'm doing. Just like the stock market, I think maybe now at this low point it's a good time to get into a business like this."

In the meantime, NASA has pegged associate deputy administrator Richard Keegan to continue as the space agency's acting CIO, but it has not yet named Cureton's permanent replacement.