Richard Staropoli has been named chief information officer at the Homeland Security Department. Staropoli will be coming to Washington from New York-based international hedge fund Fortress Investment Group, where he is the managing director of counterparty risk/chief information security officer.
Staropoli served as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service for 25 years, in hostage rescue and counterassault teams, among others. He has received awards from the Treasury Department, DHS and the New York City Police Department for his service.
“His Secret Service experience should be very helpful in supporting law enforcement agencies like Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers,” former DHS CIO Steve Cooper told WashingtonExec.
“In absence of subject-matter expertise and experience as a CIO, I would encourage him to draw upon his staff and the component CIOs for input,” added Cooper, who most recently served as CIO at the Commerce Department. “I know from personal experience his is a very challenging job, and I wish him well. He’ll need the support of the secretary and deputy secretary to succeed, along with the undersecretaries’ management and political leadership when named and confirmed.”
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