GSA CIO heads for private sector

General Services Administration CIO Casey Coleman is leaving her position at the agency to become a vice president at AT&T Government Solutions.

AGS, a division of AT&T Inc. that serves federal agencies, said Jan. 7 it had named Coleman as client executive vice president. Her first day at her new job will be Jan. 21.

Sonny Hashmi, GSA's deputy CIO, has agreed to serve as acting CIO when Coleman leaves, GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini said in a statement.

GSA Deputy Administrator Susan Brita will also be leaving the agency, Tangherlini said, and Denise Turner Roth will assume the role of deputy administrator on March 14.

Coleman, who has served as CIO for GSA's Federal Acquisition Service and Federal Technology Service, oversees the GSA's Office of the Chief Information Officer, and manages the agency's $600 million information technology budget.

In her new role at AGS, the company said, Coleman will be responsible for the development of long-term customer relationships and delivery of customized solutions for a key set of agencies in the civilian market.

"Advances in cloud, mobility, big data and security present federal organizations with a new world of opportunities," Coleman said in a statement issued by AGS. "I am thrilled to join AT&T Government Solutions and look forward to helping federal customers achieve their mission in innovative, strategic ways by combining AT&T's impressive solutions portfolio with my many years of experience in the federal IT sector."

Tangherlini called Coleman "an important part of GSA for years," who had helped the agency achieve several "firsts" for the government in mobility, cloud computing, social media and collaboration initiatives that have reduced costs, improved productivity, and improved the agency's ability to deliver services to federal partners. "Her dedication, work ethic, and willingness to help her co-workers have made a difference in every corner of this agency and we wish her well," said Tangherlini.

Rumors of Coleman's departure began circulating shortly after another prominent federal information executive left for the private sector. On Dec. 20, Office of Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Joe Jordan accepted a position as president of public sector at FedBid, a privately held company that offers a reverse-auction marketplace in which companies compete for government business by bidding down their prices.