Department of Defense Chief Information Officer John Sherman speaks at the 14th annual Billington CyberSecurity Summit (Photo courtesy of Billington CyberSecurity Summit)

WASHINGTON — John Sherman, the Department of Defense’s Chief Information Officer, will step down at the end of June, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced Thursday in a press release.

“Mr. Sherman has been a steadfast advisor and an innovative leader who has helped the Department adopt and utilize modern information technology to keep our country safe. His technical expertise has proven invaluable in tackling a variety of digital challenges,” Austin stated in the announcement.

Sherman, who has served as the CIO for the past two and a half years, will become the next Dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, his alma mater, beginning Aug.1, according to an email from Texas A&M sent to Breaking Defense. 

“The spirit of service and focus on preparing students for the future they instilled in the school will be our guiding light as we look to the challenges the next generation of leaders will face. Liz [Sherman’s wife] and I are excited to get back home to College Station and beginning this next chapter in our lives,” Sherman said in the email. 

In his role as the CIO, Sherman served as the lead for the department’s attempts to modernize its information technology and move toward a combat cloud. He was the principal adviser to Austin for information technology, information management, information assurance and lead on space systems, satellite communications and other telecommunication focus areas. 

Sherman has been active in the national security community for nearly 30 years. Before his CIO stint, he served as Intelligence Community CIO, and worked with the CIA, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National Intelligence Council. He also served as an Air Defense Artillery officer in the 24th Infantry Division.