State Department head of cloud programs Brian Merrick to leave post

Brian Merrick is set to leave his post as director of cloud programs at the State Department, FedScoop understands.

The IT leader steps down after three years in the role, but according to sources will remain in government service. 

He has served at the State Department since 2008, when he joined the Bureau of Information Resource Management as deputy manager for the IT Cost Center Working Capital Fund. 

Merrick’s previous roles at State include a period as director of the office of digital in the Bureau of International Information Programs, and as director of the Office of Innovative Infrastructure. 

Before working at State, Merrick for a period was a financial management consultant and IT project manager at PwC, and before that served for nearly a decade as a commissioned officer in the Army. 

During his tenure at State, the IT leader helped to oversee the agency’s transition to the cloud, including the initial implementation of a three-year data strategy launched in September last year.

Speaking at a FedScoop-hosted event earlier this year, Merrick said the speed of recent events has helped to make the case for wholesale organizational change and closer collaboration between sub-agencies at State. 

“In today’s day and age we are facing unprecedented expectations: speed of delivery, speed of information, the need for data analytics to drive decisions at very senior levels. The need to operationalize activities very quickly,” he said.

No further details of Merrick’s next destination were immediately available.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.