On October 6, 2002, the Secretary of the Interior appointed W. Hord Tipton Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Mr. Tipton had been Acting CIO in this position since June 10, 2002. Since then, Mr. Tipton has revitalized the IT Management Council of bureau Chief Information Officers under the authority of the Secretary, and initiated realignment of IT functions throughout Interior.

 

Mr. Tipton launched Interior's first published Enterprise Architecture and Technical Reference Model. As Chief Information Officer he institutionalized an IT Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) model and initiated the inaugural IT Capital Investment Review Board. Under his leadership, Interior has established sound IT Security policy and guidelines, and initiated testing and IT security training programs throughout the agency. Mr. Tipton's objectives are to establish an agency IT business architecture including human capital planning, further refine the IT Security program and drive business investment capital planning into the heart of IT life cycle management.

Mr. Tipton previously served in the Bureau of Land Management as Assistant Directors' for Information Resource Management (Chief Information Officer), Energy and Minerals, and Resource Use and Protection. Mr. Tipton has served as State Director for the Bureau of Land Management, Director for Offshore Minerals and International Affairs for the Minerals Management Service, and as Acting Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

Mr. Tipton holds a Masters Degree in Engineering Administration from the University of Tennessee, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from Morehead University in Kentucky and is a Certified Information System Security Information Professional (CISSP) and also an Information System Security Engineering Professional. Mr. Tipton has served 25 years with the Federal government, and has received the President's Meritorious Service Rank Award and the Silver Executive Leadership Award from the Secretary of the Interior.

 

In addition, Mr. Tipton has 13 years engineering experience with Union Carbide and Swift Chemical Corporations.

 

Hord is married, has 2 adult children, the smartest granddaughter in the world, and has personal interests in martial arts, sports, computers, and family connections.