Ted Kaouk serves as the Deputy Director for Human Capital Data Management and Modernization and the Chief Data Officer for the Office of Personnel Management. He also serves as the first Chair of the Federal Chief Data Officer Council. Most recently, Ted was the Chief Data Officer at the Department of Agriculture, where he was responsible for developing strategies to fully leverage its data as a strategic asset, improving organizational decision-making and outcomes for citizens. Ted also served as Chief of Staff in the USDA Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), where he provided broad leadership, strategy, communications, and administrative support for the USDA Chief Information Officer in the management of a $3 Billion IT portfolio. Ted started his career as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, where he served as a communications officer, overseeing a guided missile destroyer computer network, satellite communications suite, and cryptographic program, and as damage control officer, managing all crew readiness programs for conventional, bio-chemical, and environmental threats to normal shipboard operations and stability. Ted graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree, earned a master’s from the University of Virginia, and a PhD from the University of Maryland, College Park.