In 2008, Bhagowalia became the chief information officer of the Department of the Interior, with the responsibility to provide leadership to the department and all its bureaus in areas of information resource management and IT.
As CIO, Bhagowalia manages the IT infrastructure, applications and information resources supporting the department’s different mission areas, including Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Indian Affairs, Land and Minerals Management, Water and Science, Policy, Financial and Business Management.
Bhagowalia’s responsibilities include all 12 core competency areas under the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, the E-Government Act of 2002, and all applicable laws, regulations and directives. Some of the core competency areas include acquisition, process improvement, and security and information assurance.
Prior to his current position, Bhagowalia served as CIO for Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior. One of his accomplishments there includes being selected for the 2008 Secretary’s Gold Award for Exceptional Executive Service.
As a senior-level employee, Bhagowalia also worked in the FBI, where he assisted the CIO in overseeing a technology budget and managing eight of the 12 CIO core competency areas. His management team was the first-ever IT team in the FBI to receive the Director’s Award for Special Achievement in 2005
Before landing the job at the FBI, Bhagowalia worked for Boeing, where he created, designed and implemented technical and business solutions of medium-to-large size, scope and complexity for U.S. government clients. At Boeing, he received numerous awards, including the NASA Award of Merit, the NASA Silver Snoopy Award, the NASA Space Transportation System Mission Support Award, and the Boeing Technical Excellence Fellowship Program.
Bhagowalia earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana State University. He also has a Master of Science in IRM from Syracuse University, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from LSU.