Katie Arrington, former South Carolina state lawmaker and a previous Wash100 awardee, has been appointed to perform the duties of the Department of Defense’s chief information officer.
In a LinkedIn post published Monday, the Office of the DOD CIO said Arrington will serve as the secretary of defense’s primary adviser on matters related to IT and information management; information assurance; non-intelligence space systems; telecommunications; critical satellite communications, navigation and timing programs; and spectrum.
The office also announced that Leslie Beavers, who served as acting CIO at DOD, will resume her position as principal deputy CIO at the department.
In February, Arrington announced her return to the Pentagon as DOD’s chief information security officer, or CISO.
Arrington’s Career Highlights
From 2019 to 2022, Arrington served as CISO within the DOD Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. During her time at the Pentagon, she helped advance the department’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.
She was senior vice president of external affairs at software development company Exiger before rejoining DOD in February.
The DOD official held leadership positions at several tech companies, including Dispersive Technologies, Centuria, and Catalyst Development. She also worked as a research analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton.
