Rear Adm. Christopher Bartz, assistant commandant for command, control, communications, computers and information technology and chief information officer at the U.S. Coast Guard, has been selected to serve as deputy CIO at the Department of Homeland Security, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.
Bartz will officially assume the role on Feb. 5 as he succeeds Beth Cappello, who is set to retire on March 9 after 33 years of government service.
According to an email to staff obtained by FNN, DHS CIO Eric Hysen said Bartz has extensive experience in cybersecurity, serving as director of training and exercises at U.S. Cyber Command and chief information security officer at USCG.
“I have seen Chris’s technical and leadership acumen firsthand, and can’t wait to see him bring his skills and experiences to continue driving transformational change in OCIO and across the entire department,” Hysen added.
Bartz previously led software development efforts for the Coast Guard as commanding officer of the Operations Systems Center and served as chief of C4&IT capabilities with oversight of IT requirements for shore-based, aviation and afloat assets.