VA, Air Force Leaders Join Federal CIO Office

Department of Veterans Affairs leader Drew Myklegard and Air Force Chief Data Officer Eileen Vidrine recently took on new roles under the Federal Chief Information Officer.

Myklegard, previously executive director of product engineering at VA, was appointed associate deputy federal CIO. Vidrine is joining as senior strategic advisor for data.

“Eileen Vidrine and Drew Myklegard bring a breadth and depth of knowledge and extraordinary talent to our team. They’re proven leaders in deploying modern technology that’s secure by design and delivers more seamless processes for the federal workforce so they can better serve the American people,” Federal CIO Clare Martorana told GovCIO Media & Research.

Myklegard and Vidrine will work to deliver on the Biden Administration’s priorities related to cybersecurity, data and IT modernization. Martorana said the two will also support the President’s Management Agenda, as well as recent executive orders on cybersecurity and customer experience.

“They will help OFCIO as we pursue an ambitious agenda that includes working on the PMA, the executive orders on cybersecurity and customer experience, and driving IT modernization and data initiatives across the federal government,” Martorana added.

At VA, Myklegard worked directly with the agency CIO and deputy CIO on software engineering, data and analytics, and the veteran experience. One of his recent milestones was implementing software as a service to help VA standardize operating procedures across the agency and assist with broader cloud computing.

“At VA we showed what’s possible,” Myklegard said in a LinkedIn post about his new position at the agency, which is nestled under the Office of Management and Budget.

Vidrine helped the Defense Department build out data management strategies to support artificial intelligence capacities and the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative.

“Over the last few years, the department has made a large number of strides in trying to apply data, AI and digital solutions,” Vidrine told GovCIO Media & Research in Dec. 2021. In a LinkedIn post, Vidrine noted that she’s “excited to scale this work” at OMB.

“We’re excited by their arrival and looking forward to continuing our momentum together,” Martorana said.