Jane Rathbun has been named the Department of the Navy’s special assistant for information management and chief information officer.
She had been serving as the acting DON CIO since March and previously held the position of deputy secretary of the Navy for information and chief technology officer. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced the appointment Nov. 3, and Rathbun officially assumed her role as DON CIO on Oct. 29
The SAIM and DON CIO is the principal staff assistant to the secretary of the Navy on IT, digital modernization, cybersecurity and data management.
“Jane’s leadership, technical acumen, and personal character stood out amongst a very competitive field of candidates and represent the best of our ongoing efforts to build a culture of warfighting among our one Navy-Marine Corps team,” Del Toro said. “She is the right person to drive our efforts to implement the Department of Defense Digital Modernization Strategy and enable our ability to leverage data for decision advantage.”
The CIO office spent the last two years using industry best practices to drive innovation and sustain the department’s warfighting competitive advantage. It has worked to modernize infrastructure, innovate and deploy new capabilities, and defend naval information, the press release said.
The DON CIO initiated Operation Cattle Drive to streamline systems and reduce costs, while also addressing “Fix My Computer” issues with Flank Speed Managed Devices, improving network reliability, and emphasizing zero trust principles and advanced tech like AI.
“I am honored and humbled to serve the DON as the SAIM and CIO,” Rathbun said. “I take seriously our mission to build a modern, agile, and adaptive naval information environment that can be leveraged anytime and anywhere to meet the challenges during all phases of competition, crisis, and conflict. I look forward to working with the CNO and Commandant to achieving the operational and business outcomes articulated in the NAVPLAN and Force Design 2030.”