Bill McCluggage, the UK government’s deputy CIO, is to leave the post to join US-headquarted information management technology vendor EMC.
"I am sorry to leave the Cabinet Office team, but feel the time is right after successfully publishing a new strategy and implementation plan for government ICT," McCluggage said in a statement. "This will ensure a modern, fit-for-purpose and cost effective ICT structure which supports public service delivery to a higher standard and gives value for money for the tax payer.”
"After a successful career in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Bill has been outstanding in his UK role," said Ian Watmore, permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office. "On behalf of the Cabinet Office and the whole of the government ICT community I thank him for what he has done and wish him well in his new job."
A spokesperson for EMC confirmed that McCluggage has joined the company, although it has yet to reveal what his role will be. EMC has an office in Belfast.
McCluggage is the latest in a series of government IT executives to leave for the industry this year.
In April, EMC-subsidiary VMware hired Andy Tait, formerly the deputy director of the government’s G-Cloud initiative. Tait is now VMware’s head of UK public services strategy.
And in August, former government CIO John Suffolk revealed that he had been hired by Chinese telecommunications equipment provider Huawei to lead the company’s security practice. Huawei also appointed Sir Andrew Cahn, the former CEO of UK Trade and Investment, as the chairman of its UK advisory council.
