Wagner, Thompson receive 2009 Azimuth Awards

Marty Wagner, former associate administrator at the General Services Administration, and John Thompson, chief executive officer of Symantec, today received the 2009 Azimuth Awards from the CIO Council.

Wagner was instrumental in developing, and then employing, new e-government initiatives and writing policies that affected many agencies' operations, the council said, and Thompson is a leader in the field of securing information.

“Their contributions to move the country forward embody the spirit of the Azimuth Awards,” said Vivek Kundra, federal CIO and director of the CIO Council.

While at GSA, Wagner managed five of President George W. Bush’s 24 e-government initiatives. Several of the initiatives led to USA.gov, a federal search engine for government information, and the maturing of identity management, which ultimately aided Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. The directive requires a personal identity verification credential for federal employees and government contractors to enter secure buildings and computer networks.

Wagner suffered a life-threatening injury in July 2008. Today, though, he is in physical and speech therapy and regaining his mobility, said Elizabeth Cotsworth, Wagner’s wife, who accepted the award on his behalf.

Thompson received the award for Symantec’s work in information security. In a taped acceptance speech, he said the information field soon will face a sea change as threats of attack become more intricate and serious, particularly the information that organizations share becomes crucial to their work. He added that the shift will force the government and industry to rethink how they secure and manage their information.

The CIO Council is the principal interagency forum for improving how the agencies design and share information resources.

The annual Azimuth Awards highlight the lifetime achievement of two individuals, one in the public sector and one in the private sector, for their success and continued support of the government IT community.

The 2008 awardees were David Wennergren, deputy CIO at the Defense Department, and Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.