Changes in store at Treasury

Fred Thompson, a longtime information technology official at the Treasury Department, is leaving the federal government in the midst of a reorganization that resulted in cuts to the IT staff.

Thompson, assistant director for consulting and marketing at Treasury's Office of the Chief Information Officer, is the latest IT official to announce his departure. Last week, Mayi Canales, the acting chief information officer, said she was leaving her job in government effective Oct. 25 to start a consulting business.

In an e-mail sent to his friends and colleagues on Oct. 24, Thompson said he decided to end his 30-year federal career on Nov. 1 after 30 years in the government. His first plan is to take a vacation in Hawaii and then look for a job in the private sector.

"I appreciate the support and encouragement that I have gotten from my many friends and colleagues at Treasury during my (almost) five years here as well as during the 10 years that I served in the Internal Revenue Service," Thompson said in his e-mail.

A strong believer in making government an employer of choice for IT workers, Thompson, working with the National Academy of Public Administration, helped draft a study released last year of alternative pay systems and other human resources issues. The study called for solving the federal IT workforce crisis by using innovative programs such as pay-banding and special salary rates; beefing up training programs; and awarding bonuses.

It also called on agencies to offer a balanced work/life program and invest the time and resources needed to implement change.

In another move, Mike Parker, currently the director of Enterprise IT Business Planning and Assurance for Treasury's CIO office, will become the interim acting CIO while officials look for a permanent candidate. Parker began his tenure at Treasury as director of financial management for the CIO office in 1999.