Indian-American Dr Raj Iyer has become the first ever Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the United States (US) Army.
The Pentagon created the position of CIO in July 2020.
Dr Raj Iyer is one of the highest ranking Indian-American civilians in the US Department of Defence.
Dr Iyer holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering had been serving as the Principal Advisor to the Secretary of the Army and directs representation of the secretary in matters relating to information management/information technology (IT).
The position of CIO is equivalent to a three-star General.
Dr Raj Iyer will supervise the US Army’s IT operations.
Dr Raj Iyer will monitor and supervise modernisation of the US Army and make it at par with adversaries such as China and Russia.
Born in India, Dr Raj Iyer is a native of Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu and grew up in Bengaluru.
He completed his undergraduate studies at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tirchi.
Later, he moved to the United States in pursuit of higher studies.
Dr Raj Iyer holds his PhD from the University of Texas.
He also a dual Masters Degree holder: Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas.