FBI Director Robert S.
Mueller, III, today announced the appointment of Darwin
A. John as the FBI's Chief Information Officer. Mr.
John replaces Bob E. Dies, who recently ended a two-year
stint as both CIO and assistant director for information
resources with the FBI.
As he has with other
specialized positions, Director Mueller tapped into
the private sector for Mr. John, who since 1990 has
served as managing director of Information and Communications
Systems worldwide for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. There, he set strategic
direction and architecture for leveraging the use of
information and communications technologies for the
11 million member church. For example, he helped lead
the creation of the Family Search Internet web site,
which since going up in 1999, has averaged seven to
eight million hits a day against the 900 million names
contained in the system.
Director Mueller said
Mr. John brings a "demonstrated capability to achieve
broad-based results in an area critical to the FBI's
success, particularly at a time when the Bureau is modernizing
its information technologies -- while reorganizing and
re-engineering -- and, undergoing unprecedented change
in its investigative mission and priorities."
Stephen Finnerty, president
of the Society for Information Management, described
Mr. John as "one of the most progressive leaders
in the information systems industry," and said
he expects him to make "valuable and outstanding
contributions to the FBI, its mission, and the American
people."
As Chief Information
Officer for the FBI, Mr. John will lead the development
of information technology strategies, which support
the FBI's mission goals and objectives. He will work
closely with the Laboratory, Criminal Justice Information
Services and Information Resources Divisions, where
forensic technologies, law enforcement services and
investigative and administrative support are concentrated.
Mr. John will report directly to Director Mueller.
Prior to his current
position with the Church, Mr. John served in senior
information management positions with a number of major
U.S. corporations, including Scott Paper, where he was
vice-president; General Mills, where he was Director
of Information and Communications Systems Development
and Operations; and, Honeywell, where he was a senior
systems analyst. He holds masters and bachelors degrees
from Utah State University.
