Deputy CIO Leslie Beavers leaving DOD
The Department of Defense’s No. 2 IT official for the past two years is leaving the role, the department announced Monday.
Leslie Beavers, who also served as acting DOD CIO for a period at the end of the Biden administration and during the early days of the second Trump administration, will step down as DOD principal deputy CIO at the end of September.
“The Office of the CIO would like to congratulate Principal Deputy DoD CIO Leslie Beavers who announced today that she will be stepping down from her position at the end of September after more than 30 years of uniformed and civilian service,” reads a LinkedIn post from the DOD CIO’s office. “From projects such as Mission Partner Environment and the standup of the Cyber Academic Engagement Office to work to accelerate Identity, Credential, and Access Management enterprise solutions, Ms. Beavers’ unique blend of uniformed, civilian, and private industry experience drove success and innovation.”
Beavers also played a key role in the Office of the CIO’s delivery of its Fulcrum IT strategy in 2024 with then-CIO John Sherman.
In an exclusive interview with DefenseScoop, Beavers detailed the genesis of Fulcrum, which has become the guiding strategic framework for the Pentagon’s IT modernization.
“It was really important to crystallize the department’s vision into what success looks like, which is what we are attempting to do here in Fulcrum because I am trying to get program managers across the department — not just within the CIO organizations, but in all the different weapon systems program offices — to make decisions a little differently, to make them with the user experience in mind, to make them with interoperability as a priority first and really defining what success looks like, and giving them that vision,” she said.
When Sherman stepped down from the CIO role at the end of June 2024, Beavers filled it temporarily until Katie Arrington was appointed to perform the duties of CIO in March. Since then, Beavers retained her deputy role, supporting new efforts under Arrington’s leadership like the Software Fast Track initiative and “blowing up” the Risk Management Framework.
It’s unclear what Beavers’ next role will be after her departure or who will take her place when she officially leaves. DefenseScoop reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
Prior to serving as principal deputy CIO, Beavers was director of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance enterprise capabilities in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence & Security and an intelligence officer in the Air Force at the rank of brigadier general. She also held roles in the private sector with GE and NBC Universal.
