Government Information Technology

WASHINGTON, May 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Roger Baker, a former chief executive officer in the information technology industry, took the oath of office yesterday as Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

"I am proud to be able to serve our country and our Nation's Veterans," Baker said. "Technology is a key component in achieving President Obama's and Secretary Shinseki's vision of a 21st century VA.

"While this will certainly be a challenging position, I look forward to working with the 6,500 VA IT employees as we strive to provide our internal customers and our Veteran clients with the best IT services in government," he added.

As assistant secretary, Baker will serve as VA's chief information officer (CIO), advising Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki on matters related to information technology (IT), cyber security and the computerized implementation and operation of many Veteran programs and data banks.

Baker is the former president and CEO of Dataline, LLC, a technology company, and was the CIO for the Department of Commerce from 1998 to 2001. Before joining the federal government in 1998, his career with software and Internet firms included leading development of online banking systems at VISA International. He was a senior executive at CACI International and General Dynamics.

During the presidential transition, Baker served on the technology and Veterans agency review teams. Active in the federal technology community, he has written extensively on improving the management and results of government IT investments. He served as vice chair of an IT industry advisory council transition study group.

Baker holds a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs