The Social Security Administration (SSA) is taking steps to overhaul and restructure its Office of Systems – which has served as the main arm of SSA’s IT apparatus – to realign the agency’s IT management focus around a new Office of the Chief Information Officer, an agency official confirmed.
As an initial step in the restructuring, the Office of Systems will be known as the Office of the Chief Information Officer moving forward.
SSA Acting Commissioner Kilolo Kijakazi is directing the restructuring with a goal “to provide strategic vision, align IT initiatives with overall business goals, and drive innovation,” said Darren Lutz, public affairs specialist at the agency.
As part of the restructuring, Sean Brune will move from his current role of deputy commissioner/chief information officer, systems to the new position of assistant deputy commissioner of operations.
“We now need his expertise in operations to assist in addressing our service delivery challenges, particularly considering the budget constraints the agency may be facing in fiscal 2024,” said Kijakazi in an email to SSA personnel.
Additionally, Patrick Newbold – who has been working as the assistant deputy commissioner for IT modernization and the acting deputy chief transformation officer for SSA – will now serve as the acting CIO before he departs the agency in January 2024.
As for the new permanent CIO, SSA will make a vacancy announcement in the coming weeks about filling the role on a permanent basis.
