OMB Appoints Drew Myklegard as Permanent Deputy Federal CIO

The Office of Management and Budget named Drew Myklegard as permanent deputy federal CIO, after serving in an acting capacity since April.

Myklegard joined OMB in January 2022 as associate deputy federal CIO, following his more than eight-year tenure at the Department of Veterans Affairs. At VA, Myklegard led three vertical portfolios, including software engineering, data and analytics and veteran experience, as well as a team of over 1,800 total employees and contractors.

“Almost a year ago, I took a big leap to leave VA to work with Federal CIO Clare Martorana and the OFCIO team. It’s been a wild ride, and a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m grateful to continue working with this team, as the Deputy Federal CIO,” Myklegard wrote in a LinkedIn post.

As acting deputy federal CIO, Myklegard has worked directly with Martorana to support execution of the President’s Management Agenda, the executive orders on cybersecurity and customer experience, and IT modernization and data initiatives across government.

Myklegard has worked to speed development cycles while building in security, he said during GovCIO Media & Research’s August Disruptive DevSecOps virtual event. By developing and leveraging DevSecOps strategies, Myklegard has helped OMB deploy timely capabilities and stay up to speed with evolving IT modernization demands.

“You have to build a belief that get faster is safer,” Myklegard said. “Getting into an organization’s head — and building their trust around the fact that we can deliver faster and safer at the same time — is one of the biggest challenges I’ve seen.”

Moving forward, Myklegard will work to develop trust and a culture of innovation in emerging development strategies. As permanent deputy federal CIO, he will also oversee high-level management and support the implementation of the federal CIO’s strategic objectives.

“This ambitious agenda calls for a Deputy Federal CIO who has deployed secure, modern products and services that meet today’s expectations and can scale digital service delivery best practices across the Federal enterprise. We’re excited to have Drew Myklegard step into the role of Deputy Federal CIO and look forward to his leadership in delivering a better government to the American people through technology,” Martorana told GovCIO Media & Research in a statement.