Join the Homeland Security and Defense Forum on September 7th for a roundtable discussion with Mr. Charles Armstrong, Director at CIO at FEMA. Hear about FEMA's IT strategy and plan, how emerging technologies can deliver mission capabilities for FEMA, and how the private sector can be a better partner in these efforts. To RSVP, please contact rsvp@hsdf.org.
About the career of Mr. Charles Armstrong
Mr. Charles "Charlie" Armstrong currently serves as Director and Chief Information Officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) is responsible for providing enterprise IT services vital to carrying out FEMA’s mission for both disaster survivors and our employees. This includes providing secure IT capabilities so that FEMA IT is “always ready” to support our stakeholders and workforce.
Charlie departed CBP in 2016 after 8 years as their Assistant Commissioner (AC) and CIO of the Office of Information and Technology (OIT). Charlie’s 30+ years of leadership and technology experience began in IT operations and management with the Department of Navy, followed by a career with the U.S. Customs Service and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Charlie was selected to serve as the first CIO of the Border and Transportation Services (BTS) agency during the inception and creation of The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), giving him exceptional institutional knowledge. His unique talents in security and technology positioned him to serve as the Deputy CIO at DHS for 3 years (and Acting CIO for 9 months). Charlie oversaw the establishment of OneNet, migration to a standardized email system, the acquisition and buildout of two DHS Data Centers and a cyber security program.
Charlie has broad knowledge of DHS Management to include Budgeting, Procurement, Acquisition, Personnel, Property and Accounting. He provided leadership in audit management and resolution, union negotiations, representation of DHS programs at OMB and both House and Senate, and the overall mission of the DHS.
In 2018, Charlie was selected to be CBP’s Assistant Commissioner for Information and Technology. In this role Charlie oversaw Information Technology programs to support the CBP frontline mission. He provided leadership to Laboratories and Scientific Services, Tactical Radio Communications and O&M of Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology.
Retiring as one of the most influential technology leaders for the agency, Charlie right-sized the $3B ACE program, modernized passenger processing, implemented virtualization and cloud computing and modernized the largest federal law enforcement tactical communications system.
Charlie is an alumni of Old Dominion University with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and a Master’s Certificate in Management from National Louis University. He is a Harvard Senior Executive Fellow and a graduate of GSA’s Strategic and Tactical Advocates for Results (STAR) Program. His special interests in the technology security field led him to pursue credentials as a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), serving him well as he oversaw the creation of two DHS data centers and remained responsible for their 24×7 security operations.
