Stephen Rice, the Department of Homeland Security’s deputy chief information officer, is leaving.

DHS  confirmed Rice will take a similar position with the Navy Federal Credit Union.

A DHS spokesperson said Rice’s last day is July 19.

“The department thanks Mr. Rice for his significant contributions to its information technology modernization initiatives and wishes him every success in his future endeavors.   A permanent replacement for Mr. Rice has not been named as this time,” the spokesperson said.

The credit union recently promoted Tony Gallardy to be its CIO, opening up the deputy CIO position.

Gallardy said in a statement to Federal News Network, “Mr. Rice is bringing a wealth of knowledge and insight to our Information Services Department, stemming from his extensive experience working with information technology at the Department of Homeland Security, His role will have an impact on over 18,000 employees and more than 8 million members and we are confident Mr. Rice is the right person at the right time.”

Rice has worked at DHS for more than 13 years, including a decade with the Transportation Security Administration and the last two as the deputy CIO at headquarters. He served as acting CIO at DHS for about a month in 2017.

During his tenure as deputy CIO, Rice focused on several initiatives ranging from simplifying the agency’s IT architecture and harmonizing the end-user experience, to upgrading the workforce and moving DHS to Windows 10.

He also played a key role in moving DHS toward a new approach for its data centers consolidation effort and use of the cloud.

DHS recently released a new IT strategic plan for 2019 to 2023. The plan focuses on four main areas: culture, connectivity, cybersecurity and customers.

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