André Mendes, the chief information officer (CIO) at the Department of Commerce (DoC), announced today that he is stepping down from that post at the end of the year.
Mendes has served as the agency’s CIO since August 2019, and his last day will be Dec. 31, 2023. In a LinkedIn post, he shared that he is retiring from the Federal service to serve as the new CIO for Tarrant County, Texas.
“Well friends. I am retiring from the Fed! Over 14+ years, far exceeding expectations and bets when I joined, I have had a ball,” Mendes said in the post. “Proud I became the first Portuguese to head a U.S. agency, highest ever ranked career Latino at Commerce and won just about every IT industry award there is to win.”
Mendes said he is starting his new role in Texas on Jan. 2, 2024, where he commuted from weekly for the last two and a half years.
“Public service, transformation, outstanding Administrator (Chandler Merritt), shorter and cheaper commute, and better comp await me,” he said. “To those who supported or undermined me, thank you! Pressure creates diamonds. We leave behind quite a few gems!”
Prior to serving as the Commerce Department’s CIO, he also served as CIO at the International Trade Administration Bureau (ITA) – the DoC bureau that manages global trade issues for the United States. There, he oversaw a rapid digital transformation effort, making ITA the first Federal agency or bureau to employ 100 percent cloud-based systems.
Prior to ITA, Mendes spent eight years at the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) in various executive roles, including CIO, CEO, COO, CTO, and CFO.
Earlier this year, the seasoned CIO offered advice to other CIOs looking to succeed in a rapidly-evolving IT landscape. Mendes encouraged them to stay vigilant today, while also looking to the future.
“This rapid constant evolution is extremely, extremely demanding, right? We have to maintain today and build tomorrow,” Mendes said. “Mission criticality and ultra-rapid evolution sometimes clash, and so we need to be very careful that we keep the blocks running. Things will only get faster, which means this is going to continue to be a challenge.”
