Dr. Raj Iyer, chief information officer (CIO) for the U.S. Army, plans to step down from his position in the coming weeks transitioning from the Department of Defense (DoD) to private industry, according to his LinkedIn post.
Iyer was the first civilian to hold the CIO position in the Army’s 243-year history. During his tenure, Iyer spearheaded many projects that catapulted the Army’s technological abilities into the next generation.
“My time to depart from the Army has come with the expiration of my contract, and I will start transitioning out over the next several weeks. This truly has been an honor of a lifetime, and I am proud of what the Army has been able to accomplish in just two short years through digital transformation,” Iyer wrote.
One key action during his tenure as CIO was the implementation of the Army Digital Transformation Strategy, which has helped modernize many of the military’s technology uses. Iyer was also a part of implementing the Army’s bring-your-own-device (BYOD) initiative, which allows army personnel to utilize their devices for work purposes.
In addition, Iyer tackled the challenge of outlining some of the Army’s key zero trust objectives. In his role, Iyer led the Army in handling cybersecurity and zero trust challenges. He also led initiatives for the adoption of more commercial cloud environments rather than in-house solutions within the Army.
According to his LinkedIn post, the DoD is on the lookout for a new CIO and will decide within “the next few weeks.”
“As I plan my transition over the next few weeks, my priority is to ensure that I support the Army’s efforts to find the next CIO,” stated Iyer
