Treasury Taps Frank Bisignano in New CEO Role at IRS

The Treasury Department’s appointment of Frank Bisignano as the first CEO of the Internal Revenue Service brings a familiar face and new leadership structure to the agency.

Bisignano, who currently serves as commissioner of the Social Security Administration, will hold both positions concurrently and will report to IRS Acting Commissioner Scott Bessent.

An agency press release noted Bisignano will manage the organization and oversee day-to-day operations. Experts noted the new position would bring stability to the agency, which has had five acting commissioners since January, with a permanent leader serving only from June to August.

“[He] will come over and manage the day-to-day operations for the IRS, which I think is welcome news to have someone who can focus on that,” said Nikole Flax, principal of PwC’s Tax Controversy and Regulatory Services Practice.

Bessent noted the value of Bisignano’s extensive experience in the private sector for IRS’ modernization plans.

“Frank is a businessman with an exceptional track record of driving growth and efficiency in the private and now public sector,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the press release. “Under his leadership at the SSA, he has already made important and substantial progress, and we are pleased that he will bring this expertise to the IRS as we sharpen our focus on collections, privacy, and customer service.”

Prior to his government service, Bisignano served as CEO of financial services firms Fiserv and First Data, as well as chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase.

The agency press release noted parallels between the two agencies, particularly their public-facing natures and similar “technological and customer service goals.”

The move follows Bisignano’s September restructuring at SSA of its executive team, many of which come from the private sector. Both CIOs, Michael Russo and Aram Moghaddassi, have prior connections to Elon Musk businesses.

The SSA announcement explained the structure as bringing leadership “closer to the frontlines” and building on recent successes to customer service improvements, like shortening field office wait times by 30%.

CEOs in Government

The title of chief executive officer is rare in federal service. Other federal entities that use the designation include the U.S. Postal Service, where David Steiner serves as Postmaster General and CEO, and the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, led by Dr. Josh Denny.

Other experts noted concern in the double duty at SSA and the IRS for the potential of conflicts of interest.

“Managing the IRS is a full-time job. Having one person run two major agencies makes it even harder for the IRS to prepare for the next filing season and implement recent changes in tax law,” Mike Kaercher, deputy director of the Tax Law Center at NYU Law told GovCIO Media & Research.

Bessent himself only holds the acting IRS commissioner role, for which he has not yet received Senate confirmation.