Canales resigns as Treasury's acting CIO

Mayi Canales, the Treasury Department's acting CIO and assistant deputy secretary for information systems, has resigned.


"I have been saying that I will resign by age 45," she said. "You give your best to the government, make changes and then leave."


Her resignation is effective Oct. 25. The department has not named her successor.


Canales, who worked at Treasury for more than three years of her 10-year federal career, said her decision to resign was triggered partly by her frustration over employee complaints about her plans to make changes in the CIO's office.


Earlier this year, she planned to cut nearly 40 percent of the IT staff and outsource some management functions. The department had also begun identifying outsourcing opportunities and was expected to release a solicitation this fall for telecommunications services, Web development and seat management.


"I've been investigated left and right" by the inspector general, she said. "I was tired of the complaints and the pressure. You have to be very careful in making staffing cuts."


Canales plans to set up a consulting practice with her friend Migo Miconi, who recently retired from the staff of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia. Canales will work out of her home in Washington starting Oct. 28, as a consultant for state and federal governments and the private sector for strategic planning, contract proposals, performance and budget and grant applications.


Canales said one of her major achievements was getting the federal and state governments and the private sector to work together. At Treasury, she helped streamline processes, started new IT initiatives and improved the capital planning process.