CMS CIO to Retire in April

Dean Mesterharm, chief information officer at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is set to retire at the end of April, Government Computer News (GCN) reports.

Mesterharm has held the CIO position at CMS since May 2005, and he has been instrumental in the agency’s ongoing IT modernization initiative, according to GCN.

Mesterharm’s efforts as CIO were largely concentrated on centralizing and upgrading CMS’ disparate data center operations and databases, GCN reports.

No replacement has been named as of yet, but the agency has a transition plan, according to GCN. Wallace Fung is the current deputy CIO and chief technology officer, GCN reports.

In 2004, Mesterharm left his position as deputy CIO of the Social Security Administration to act as senior IT technical adviser for CMS as it implemented the Medicare Modernization Act, according to GCN.

He took on the CIO role when Timothy Love departed for a position as director of the Office of Research, Development and Information, GCN reports.

This month, Mesterharm handed down a number of contracts for the consolidation of CMS’ 22 data centers down to three, as well as an additional contract for testing and development during the transition, according to GCN.

Mesterharm has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana’s Purdue University, and he plans to retire in North Carolina, GCN reports.

For related news coverage, read GAO: Infosecurity Lacking at HHS.

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