Mr. Rob Foster was selected as the Department of the Navy (DON) chief information officer (CIO) effective June 2015. In support of the deputy under secretary of the navy for management, Mr. Foster heads the Office of the DON CIO and is the DON’s senior official and advisor on matters related to Information Management (IM), InformationTechnology (IT)/cyberspace, and Information Resources Management (IRM). He develops strategies, policies, plans, standards, guidance, implements a secure andintegrated DON enterprise architecture, and provides transformation support for the entire Department of the Navy. Additionally, he ensures that the development and acquisition of IT systems are interoperable and consistent with the Department’s objectives and vision. Mr. Foster also serves as the Department’s cyber/IT Workforce community leader,critical infrastructure assurance officer, and senior military component official for privacy.
He is a native of Stuart, Fl.,and a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor of science in Business Administration. Mr. Foster also earned a master of science in Information Technology Management from the Naval Postgraduate School. He received a Department of Defense Chief Information Officer certificate and an Information System Security Professional certificate from the National Defense University, and master’s certificates in project management from the Defense Acquisition University and George Washington University. Mr. Foster has served across the U.S Government,bringing with him strong strategic leadership and a background firmly founded on delivering business value with technology. He also draws from 21 years in the Navy where his experiences included IT operations, software development, security, and process improvement in geographically diverse organizations. Additionally, he served asa warranted acquisition professional, global logistics expert, and program manager for major IT initiatives.
Mr. Foster was commissioned through the Naval Officer Candidate School in July 1985.Operationally, he served aboard USS John L. Hall (FFG-32) as Disbursing Officer; USS Boone (FFG-28) as Supply Department Head; and with Special Operations Command,Pacific as Logistics Officer. Ashore, his assignments included Fleet Industrial Supply Center Jacksonville, contracting officer; Naval Supply Systems Command, Software Process Improvement Director and program manager; commander, Navy Installations Command, Resource Manager; and Defense Logistics Agency as a Program Manager.Mr. Foster retired from active duty in January of 2007 as a commander. Beginning in February 2007, he served as Deputy Chief Information Officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security where in November 2008he was selected for appointment to the senior executive Service. Prior to his position as DON CIO, he served as Deputy CIO for the Department of Health and Human Services.