Perryn Ashmore, the chief information officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, is retiring at the end of May after more than 30 years of federal service.

Multiple sources confirmed Ashmore made the announcement yesterday to staff, and that Janet Vogel, the HHS chief information security officer, will be acting CIO until the agency names a new one.

Ashmore has been serving in the CIO’s role at HHS since August when Jose Arrieta left. HHS named him as the permanent CIO in December.

An email to HHS’s press office seeking comment and confirmation was not immediately returned. An email to Ashmore seeking comment also wasn’t immediately returned.

While his time as CIO was short, Ashmore helped lead HHS during the pandemic and through the challenges of IT modernization during his seven years with the agency. He said in March that the pandemic transformed the CIO’s office, moving from providing oversight and support for the Office of the Secretary to being a part of emergency response. He said this included breaking down some of the data-sharing barriers between HHS and its partners such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He also helped establish HHS’s first chief artificial intelligence officer, Oki Mek, in January with a goal of coordinating the use of AI tools across the agency, and establishing and tracking use cases to ensure consistency.

Ashmore came to HHS in 2014 and served in multiple roles, including as the principal deputy CIO and customer experience executive, as well as the executive director of the Office of the CIO’s Office of Operations.

Additionally, Ashmore served in the Office of Human Resources where he was responsible for implementing an Enterprise Human Capital Management, which was a major upgrade of the HHS human resources management system.

Before coming to HHS, Ashmore worked for the Federal Communications Commission in their tailored platforms and data area. He also worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs and at the General Services Administration, serving as GSA’s deputy CIO and chief technology officer.

Ashmore also served in the Air Force.

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