Ted Kaouk to join OPM in late October
Department of Agriculture leader Ted Kaouk will become chief data officer at the Office of Personnel Management in late October.
He takes a dual-hat role at OPM, and in addition to the CDO role will also become deputy director for human capital data management and modernization.
Following Kaouk’s move, USDA deputy CDO Chris Alvarez will become acting chief data officer.
Kaouk switches roles after three years as chief data officer at USDA. He first joined the department in 2011 and has since a variety of roles, including chief of staff and special assistant to the CIO. Earlier in his career, Kaouk was a surface warfare officer in the Navy.
He was also appointed as the first chair of the Federal CDO Council, in which role he spearheaded the use of data analytics dashboards, and supported preparations for the launch of the Federal Data Service.
Since taking the CDO role at USDA in 2018, the department has developed more than 500 data analytics dashboards across its 29 sub-agencies.
Federal chief data officers have faced a significant expansion of their roles and responsibilities over the course of the pandemic, including responding to the volume of demands for datasets from lawmakers and communicating with their staff.
Kaouk’s hiring at OPM comes as the agency looks to boost its use of data and analytics as recommended in a recent independent review.
Federal News Network first reported Kaouk’s hire.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include additional details of Kaouk’s dual-hat role and his acting replacement at USDA.
