Pentagon names new principal deputy CIO

The Department of Defense on Monday announced the appointment of Leslie Beavers as principal deputy chief information officer.

Beavers will take over the role May 8 after Kelly Fletcher vacated it last October to become CIO of the State Department. Since then, DOD Chief Information Security Officer Dave McKeown has filled the role in an acting capacity.

Beavers comes to DOD’s Office of the CIO after serving in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security as director of enterprise capabilities. She has also spent time as the mobilization assistant to the vice commander of 16th Air Force.

“I’d like to welcome Leslie to the DoD CIO! Her most recent experience in OUSD(I&S) as the Director of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Enterprise Capabilities leading the Defense Intelligence Digital Transformation Campaign Plan will enable her to hit the ground running on initiatives such as Zero Trust, JWCC, Software Modernization, and EMSO. I’d also like to thank Dave McKeown for the terrific work he has done filling in as the acting Principal Deputy for the last six months. Dave’s experience, leadership, and drive have been invaluable as we rolled out Zero Trust and awarded JWCC,” DOD CIO John Sherman said in a statement posted on LinkedIn.

As principal deputy CIO, she will be tasked with working with Sherman to advise the secretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense on IT and IT-related matters. She will also work with defense agencies’ and field activities’ CIOs to drive strategic management of resources.

A member of the Air Force Reserves for more than three decades, Beavers earned the rank of brigadier general in 2019.

In 2020, she also joined Academy Securities — a veteran-owned and operated investment bank — as an adviser.