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U.S. Navy CIO Announces Retirement

Jane Rathbun, U.S. Navy CIO, who has served as a civilian in the military for more than 30 years, announces her retirement in an August 22 LinkedIn post.

Jane Rathbun (l) sits with Lt. Gen. Susan Lawrence, USA (RET.), AFCEA International president and chief executive officer, for a fireside chat at the 2024 AFCEA West conference in San Diego. Credit: Michael Carpenter/Jesse Karras.

Jane Rathbun (l) sits with Lt. Gen. Susan Lawrence, USA (Ret.), AFCEA International president and CEO, for a fireside chat at the 2024 AFCEA West conference in San Diego. Credit: Michael Carpenter/Jesse Karras

Jane Rathbun, U.S. Navy chief information officer (CIO), announced her retirement on August 22 in a brief LinkedIn message.

“It is with gratitude, pride, and humility that I close out this chapter of my career as a civil servant. It’s hard to sum up 30+ years of an amazing career in National Security,” she wrote.

Serving our sailors, marines, soldiers, airman and guardians, their families and civilians; meeting the love of her life; building lifelong relationships; working with and for some of the most brilliant and dedicated minds the world has ever seen; delivering game changing capabilities and mission outcomes; driving strategy and busting bureaucracy; partnering with industry and academia to solve some wicked problems; continuously learning and growing; and making lasting change, she added are all “priceless.”

She concluded her message with a thank you: “Thank you to all for the part you played in my journey. I am excited for the next phase and the art of the possible.”

Rathbun has been serving as the Department of the Navy CIO, “driving continuous improvement and innovation” of the department’s information technology portfolio valued at more than $12 billion, according to her official biography.

Rathbun has had a diverse civilian career in the government, driving change initiatives focused on improving decision advantage across key government and defense processes, the bio adds. Previous positions include Navy deputy CIO and deputy assistant secretary of information warfare and enterprise services.

Within 24 hours of posting, her announcement drew multiple shares and more than 200 comments, including some from current and former military officials.

Former Defense Department CIO John Sherman congratulated Rathbun on a job well done and declared that he was honored to have worked with her.

Bradley Punch, deputy technical director for the Navy Program Executive Office-Digital, wrote: “You gave me faith that senior leaders can practice servant leadership and what successes that brings. You also brought personality and fun to hard work, which was inspiring.”