Gilligan’s new island: SRA International

John Gilligan has taken the same next step following his departure from the United States Air Force (USAF) as so many other CIOs who’ve left federal government before him: He’s accepted an offer to join one of those ubiquitous government contractors located in northern Virginia.  In his case, it’s SRA International.  One of my colleagues at CIO says SRA is like Florida for exiting government CIOs.   

Other CIOs who’ve left D.C. for consulting gigs include:

Gloria Parker left HUD for a position with Chantilly, Va.-based IT consultancy Apptis.

Ron Miller, formerly of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, now works for SRA.

Stephen T. Colo used to work inside the Secret Service’s Office of Protective Research; now he’s Science Applications International’s (SAIC) CSO.

Timothy Campen, the White House’s first CIO, is now vice president of SRA’s Orion Center for Homeland Security.

Roger Baker left the Commerce Department CIO to join CACI International. Now he works for General Dynamics Network Systems.

Woody Hall, who worked for U.S. Customs before it became part of the Department of Homeland Security, took a job with SAIC.

Gilligan left his post as the USAF’s CIO in May after the Air Force decided to appoint a three-star general (as opposed to a civilian) CIO.  Gilligan’s departure also followed a year-long integration of three different IT organizations, which he led.  (I wrote about the Air Force’s appointment of a decorated general in the July 1, 2005 issueof CIO.)

At SRA, Gilligan takes on the role of vice president and deputy director of the Fairfax, Va.-based IT consultancy’s defense sector.  In this role, Gilligan will be responsible for the management and administration, performance, staffing and marketing of SRA’s work with the Department of Defense, the defense agencies, the armed services and their installations.  He starts August 29.