Federal IT veterans help Trump transition

Among the growing ranks of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team are a former General Services Administration CIO and the head of the U.S. Cyber Challenge.

Former GSA CIO Casey Coleman, who now is Unisys Federal Systems group vice president for civilian agencies, will be on the GSA landing team.

Karen Evans, the national director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge and a partner at management consulting service KE&T Partners, will serve on the Office of Management and Budget landing team. Evans is an OMB veteran, having served as administrator of E-Government and Information Technology at the Office of Management and Budget (a job now dubbed "federal CIO") under President George W. Bush. She also brings a broad range of government experience, having started as a GS-2 and worked at multiple agencies -- including a stint as CIO of the Department of Energy.

The landing teams serve in a coordinating role between current agency leaders and employees and the incoming administration. They help identify key policy issues and help with personnel decisions.

FCW learned in mid-November that Evans was working with the Trump transition team on cybersecurity issues, as it searched for candidates for key national security positions. Her formal role on the OMB team was announced Dec. 9.

Coleman, who spent 12 years in IT leadership roles at GSA, understands the important and growing interrelationships on which that agency's acquisition role depends.

"As a CIO, your success is going to be greatly affected by your partners in finance, procurement, legal and HR," said Coleman told FCW last March. "Any initiative you undertake depends on their cooperation and assistance."

Those dependences can be especially convoluted in government, and "you will find varying degrees of helpfulness," Coleman said.