DHS: Secretary Napolitano Announces the Appointment of Richard Spires as DHS Chief Information Officer

Secretary Napolitano Announces the Appointment of Richard Spires as DHS Chief Information Officer

Release Date: July 28, 2009

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary Contact: 202-282-8010

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today the appointment of Richard Spires—who brings decades of experience managing complex information technology systems—as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Department of Homeland Security.

“In today’s digital age, the role of information technology at DHS has never been more critical,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Richard has an impressive record of managing large-scale IT programs and I look forward to working with him to find more efficient and innovative ways to help the Department meet its strategic and information resource management goals.”

As Chief Information Officer, Spires will be responsible for managing and directing information management support processes—combining the functions of information technology and telecommunications to provide coordinated support strategies for meeting DHS-mission related information needs.

Richard Spires

Richard Spires has extensive experience in senior-level operations and information technology issues, working in both the private and public sectors. He oversaw IT responsibilities for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support, Chief Information Officer and Associate Chief Information Officer for Business Systems Modernization, respectively.

Before joining the IRS, Spires served as the President, Chief Operating Officer, and a Director of Mantas, Inc., a software product vendor. He also spent more than 16 years at SRA International—a system integration company specializing in distributed information systems—working his way up from systems and software engineer to Senior Vice President of SRA’s commercial sector.

Spires holds an M.S. in electrical engineering from The George Washington University, a B.S. in electrical engineering and a B.A. in mathematical sciences from the University of Cincinnati.