HHS installs Karl Mathias as chief information officer

The Department of Health and Human Services has appointed Karl Mathias as chief information officer, according to two people familiar with the matter.

He becomes the agency’s 8th IT leader in seven years, and takes over from George Chambers, who has held the role on an acting basis since Jan. 1.

Prior to Chambers’ interim appointment, Janet Vogel was CIO at the agency, before retiring from government service at the end of 2021.

Mathias was previously CIO of the U.S. Marshals Service, and earlier in his career held senior IT roles at the Pentagon, including as deputy director of headquarters Air Force information management.

HHS worked swiftly to craft a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including with the launch of the National COVID Cohort Collaborative Data Enclave.

However, the agency has faced long-term challenges with IT modernization, and earlier this year received a C for both modernizing government technology and cybersecurity as part of the FITARA scorecard.

Further details of Mathias’ start date were not immediately available. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

News of the appointment was first reported by Federal News Network.