Tom Sasala
Director of Data Strategy, Office of the Chief Management Officer
Department of the Navy
As Director of Data Strategy within the Office of the Chief Management Officer (OCMO), Mr. Sasala
leads the Department of the Navy’s efforts on data governance, developing Naval data policy, and
ensuring the Naval workforce is trained on data and data analytics. He advises and assists the SECNAV
and UNSECNAV in the execution of their statutory responsibilities, establishes data priorities for the
DON in support of the National Defense Strategy, and drives change through the Business Operations
Plan and Data Strategy Implementation Plan. Mr. Sasala leads data transformation for the business pillar
and works closely with the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) on DoD-wide data policies, tactics, and
techniques to improve DON decision-making.
Prior to joining the Department of the Navy, Mr. Sasala served as Director of Operations and Architecture
for U.S. Army CIO/G-6 and the Chief Data Officer for the U.S. Army. In this capacity, he led data
governance and analytics across the Army, was responsible for the implementation and migration to cloud
computing solutions, and developed segment and systems architectures for the Army as well as the
integration of architectures across the four mission areas. Additionally, Mr. Sasala was also the Chief
Technology Officer for the Joint Service Provider and the U.S. Army Information Technology Agency
(ITA) where he was responsible for the modernization of Pentagon information technology solutions and
services.
Mr. Sasala began his career as a student trainee at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). After
graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering,
he returned to NRL and pursued his Master of Science in Telecommunication and Computers. While
serving at NRL, Mr. Sasala led a variety of mission critical projects including advance research and
development in public key cryptography, software-defined agile cryptography and key management, and
the modernization of strategic communication security solutions for the Navy and Air Force Nuclear
Command and Control systems.
After leaving NRL, Mr. Sasala joined the private sector where he supported a number of clients as a
government consultant. His many roles include Chief Architect for the All-Source Analytics
Environment, Chief Architect and technical advisor for the Analytic Transformation (AT) program, and
Program Manager for various initiatives within the defense and intelligence spaces. Additionally, Mr.
Sasala spent almost two years developing cutting-edge data and training solutions at the Internet startup
targeting the public educational market.
In 2014 Mr. Sasala received the Bold Award for Innovation, recognizing his creative problem-solving,
technical acumen, ambition, and persistence. In 2015, Mr. Sasala was named a “Fed 100” honoring the
top 100 contributors across Federal, state, and local governments.