Government's Sustainability Moment - CGI Initiative for Collaborative ...

By AMANDA SPAKEPHOTOGRAPHY By JAMES KEGLEYRunning AheadRichard Spires is setting a brisk paceto push federal technology into the era of green IT.Richard Spires seems destined to take on impossibly difficult missions—and somehow make them work.Spires, 49, was appointed chief information officer at the Departmentof Homeland Security in September 2009, stepping into the shoes ofno less than seven previous CIO’s at DHS in the eight years the agencyhas existed. He has taken over responsibility for the $6.4 billion DHS hasinvested in information technology. His mission is to transformthe agency’s IT into a shared infrastructure that brings DHS’smany competing departments into one cohesive lean, greennetwork—even if it means forcing very difficult change.“These are tough jobs,” he laughs.Richard Spires, Chief Information Officer, DHS42 Leadership | CGI INITIATIVE FOR COLLABORATIVE GOVERNMENT | S P R I N G 2 0 11