If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Or if you’re Eric Hysen, you stay and bake a souffle. With a long legacy of digital innovation work in state and federal government Hysen has ascended to CIO of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, one of the “hottest” kitchens in America. After serving on the Biden-Harris Transition Team for Technology Strategy and Delivery, he was appointed by President Biden to be DHS Chief Information Officer in February 2021. He now serves as both he CIO and acting Deputy Under Secretary for Management (DUSM). As DUSM, he leads the business and mission support for DHS.
He also leads key initiatives for Secretary Mayorkas such as data transformation and workforce wellness and resiliency. He is responsible for strategically aligning the Department’s Information Technology (IT) personnel resources and assets, including security, infrastructure, and delivery, to support core DHS missions and activities.
Hysen previously led his teams to transform DHS’ most critical services by bringing top software engineering, product management, and design talent from the private sector to partner with innovators inside government. He is a founding member of the U.S. Digital Service in the White House and is blazing new cybersecurity trails, adapting to new requirements and restructured IT modernization teams.