Barry West has been named chief information officer of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, according to an announcement Monday.
Barry West will start at FDIC Dec. 1.West had been serving as CIO and deputy chief management officer of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, an independent agency that protects private pension plans for more than 44 million Americans. His first day at the FDIC is Dec. 1.
West was appointed to the position after the FDIC decided to create a post separate from the director of the Division of Information Technology (DIT). Russell Pittman will continue to serve as the DIT director.
With more than 30 years of experience in IT, West previously held four CIO posts in the federal sector. In the past, he served as the CIO for the National Weather Service and Federal Emergency Management Agency before serving as Commerce Department CIO from 2006 to 2008.
West also spent time as the executive vice president for SE Solutions, a private IT services firm.
West is leaving PBGC just days after ICF International announced a $25 million contract award to run the agency’s next-generation program management office, which aims to modernize the agency’s business operations and customer service.
He will oversee a department at the FDIC that had a fiscal year 2014 budget of more than $264 million and announced a contract award earlier this year with Deloitte and Infinity Consulting for rapid application development.
FedScoop spoke to West earlier this year about his career in government, including how he determined his professional calling at a very young age.
West also talked to FedScoop about disruptive technologies in government. Watch that interview below.
