DHS CIO: What Skills Are Needed?

“He or she has to report to the office of the Secretary [of Homeland Security]. If he’s three levels away, it won’t work…. The person will need to be a good architectural thinker. It’s not building systems; it’s merging systems.”

?JOHN KOSKINEN, CITY ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND PRESIDENT CLINTON’S Y2K CZAR

“Someone who will kick some ass with golf shoes. A nice guy will fail.”

?DAVID COLTON, VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA

“There are [parts] of this job that are broader than, say, being CIO of Commerce. The person can’t object to having bodyguards?there’s a security clearance aspect. This is like the Henry Kissinger of CIOs.”

?LARAINE RODGERS, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ARIZONA PARTNERSHIP FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND BUSINESS

“The person doesn’t need to be a technologist, though he shouldn’t be stupid about technology. He needs to have a broad vision of what homeland security is about?that’s the most important attribute he can bring to the job.”

?RAYMOND WELLS, DIRECTOR FOR STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE APPLICATION AND INTEGRATION MIDDLEWARE DIVISION AT IBM AND FORMER CTO AND CFO OF ALABAMA

“Even within the department [the CIO] will require some pretty impressive negotiation skills on the order of the negotiations between the superpowers.”

?RON MILLER, DIRECTOR OF I.T., FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

“The person needs to be a master communicator…somebody that can communicate the vision of what the department is trying to accomplish.”

?ROCK REGAN, CIO OF CONNECTICUT AND PRESIDENT OF NASCIO