Top Obama IT official joins Squire Patton Boggs

A top cybersecurity official under the Obama administration is joining Squire Patton Boggs, the firm announced Monday.

Tony Scott, who served as federal chief information officer under Barack Obama, has signed onto the firm’s data privacy, cybersecurity and public policy practices.

Scott was appointed to the top federal IT post by Obama in 2015, after serving as chief information officer at VMware, a computing and platform virtualization company.

{mosads}

The federal chief information officer (CIO) is responsible for overseeing federal technology spending, IT policy and strategy as well as cybersecurity coordination across the administration.

“From my time in industry as well as the federal government, I can attest to the importance of being both prepared to deal with any incidents that might arise as well as staying attuned to the shifting regulatory and public policy levers,” Scott said in a statement. “I look forward to sharing these insights with our clients and supporting my new colleagues across the firm.”

Last November, Scott signaled that he was open to staying on when President Trump took office if offered the opportunity. The Trump administration has not yet chosen someone to permanently fill the role of federal CIO.

Scott has previously also served in top IT positions at The Walt Disney Company and General Motors.

“Tony’s broad IT experience in both the private and public sectors is unmatched and we are delighted to welcome him to the firm,” said Robin Campbell, co-chair of Squire Patton Boggs’s data privacy and cybersecurity practice.

“His insight into the data protection and cybersecurity policy landscape from his time as the government’s CIO and private sector will be of substantial benefit to our clients, as will his on-the-ground experience spanning many different sectors,” Campbell added.