Ted Kaouk named CDO Council chair

Ted Kaouk will chair the Chief Data Officers Council as it works to improve agencies’ collection and use of data, the Office of Management and Budget announced Wednesday.

The CDO Council was created by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, or Evidence Act for short. The council is responsible for supporting agency CDOs in implementing the Federal Data Strategy and corresponding 2020 Action Plan, evaluating new technologies for making CDOs’ jobs easier, and coordinating with other data-related, governmentwide councils.

“The CDO Council can and should develop processes for capturing high-value shared opportunities and best practices while recognizing organizational differences and challenges,” Kaouk, CDO of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said in an announcement. “We will need to leverage the collective wisdom of everyone on the council for this foundational work.”

Kaouk is also a senior fellow in the Excellence in Government Fellows Program. He holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park; a master’s degree from the University of Virginia; and a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Naval Academy.

“We are very pleased to have Ted’s leadership for the Chief Data Officers Council,” said Suzette Kent, federal chief information officer, in a statement. “His cross-agency leadership with recent efforts to share resources across agencies demonstrated his commitment to the objectives of the CDO Council.”