Vance Hitch

Justice
Vance Hitch
Chief Information Officer

As the manager of the Justice Department's $2.1 billion information technology program, Vance Hitch believes his role is critical to his agency's success. Appointed by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in April 2002, Hitch found himself working in a decentralized organization that was moving toward more central control, and it was his job to coordinate the systems that keep Justice up and running. "The concept of a CIO was not there when I arrived," Hitch says.

Prior to joining the department, Hitch was a senior partner at Accenture, an international consulting firm. With more than 28 years of experience managing large IT projects and major programs in the private sector and the government, Hitch has amassed a wealth of experience that's tough to match among CIOs. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Justice Department has taken on the mission of counterterrorism, creating more organizational goals for Hitch. In the area of cybersecurity, Hitch moved his agency from an F in the 2003 Federal Computer Security Report Card to a B- in 2004, and he serves as the IT security and policy liaison for the Chief Information Officers Council.

In creating information sharing programs for Justice, Hitch has tried to get stovepiped agencies to work together to share information. His biggest challenge has been changing the department's culture. "I view my job as mission accomplishment," Hitch told a House Government Reform subcommittee last year. "I must be viewed as somebody who can be their helper in making things happen at their agencies and across the department in IT."

Hitch believes the CIO should be elevated to the level of agency chiefs. "I think reporting to the top of the organization is extremely important," he says. "I must be viewed at the same table, and I must be viewed as a peer of the [agency] heads."