Teri Takai resigns from DoD position, remains on FirstNet board

Teri Takai reportedly has submitted her resignation as the chief information officer (CIO) for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), but she will continue to serve as a FirstNet board member, according to a FirstNet spokesman.

“Teri Takai remains an active board member, assisting FirstNet in the implementation of our strategic roadmap,” FirstNet spokesman Corey Ray said in a statement e-mailed to IWCE’s Urgent Communications.

Takai’s resignation as the DoD CIO will be effective at the end of this week, according to numerous media reports. She was appointed to the position in 2010 and has been at the forefront of several key initiatives, including a move toward cloud-based information-technology (IT) infrastructure for the defense department and proposals for the military to clear or share spectrum with commercial wireless carriers.

Although three FirstNet board positions are dependent upon filling roles in the federal government, Takai’s appointment is not one of them. Takai was one of the original FirstNet board members that were appointed in August 2012. Her initial term was for one year, but she was reappointed to a three-year term last year, so she is slated to be a member of the FirstNet board until August 2016.

Prior to being named as the DoD CIO, Takai served stints as the CIO for the state of California and the state of Michigan. When appointed to FirstNet in 2012, Takai was cited as the lone FirstNet board member with a state-government background—a fact that was a concern to many state officials, who noted that Takai was a federal employee and did not represent a state government at the time.

Before entering the government sector, Takai worked for the Ford Motor Company for 30 years, where she led the development of the company’s IT strategic plan.