Beth Killoran out as CIO at HHS, moves to new agency role
Beth Killoran is stepping out of the role of CIO at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Killoran will join the Office of the Surgeon General to work on a “comprehensive information systems strategic plan” for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, an HHS spokesperson said. Relatively new agency CTO Ed Simcox will add the role of acting CIO to his existing duties “until a permanent selection is made.”
“Simcox has led multiple, large IT transformation efforts, both as an industry executive and consultant,” the spokesperson said.
Killoran initially joined HHS in Oct. 2014 and became acting CIO in Dec. 2015. She was promoted to a permanent role in July 2016. Since then she’s led common-sense modernization work at the agency, injecting realism into the shiny-new-thing optimism that can pervade in the tech space. At the AFCEA Health IT Day in January, Killoran compared trying to make new tech work on legacy systems to driving a fast car on a cow path.
She has also championed innovative hiring practices in government and was integrally involved in the CIO Council’s inaugural tech and cyber jobs fair in Nov. 2017.
