DHS picks ANZ CIO to replace Wadeson

The Department of Human Services has picked ANZ Bank's Australian chief information officer to replace stalwart John Wadeson, who retired from the CIO role in September.

Gary Sterrenberg will start in the role on 24 October, the Department of Human Services confirmed. Department general manager, Eija Seittenranta, will continue to fill the CIO position until Sterrenberg starts.

Sterrenberg has been Australian CIO for ANZ Bank since September 2010, after heading up technology sections within the bank's departments since 2006. Prior to this, Sterrenberg was the retail banking head of projects with the National Australia Bank.

Wadeson announced his intent to retire back in May, after a long history in the department, including five years as CIO. Wadeson's role expanded significantly when he began the mammoth task of bringing together the department's three agencies: Centrelink, the Child Support Agency and Medicare Australia.

Sterrenberg will begin his role with half a billion dollars worth of funding, which Human Services was allocated in the last Federal Budget. The funds, mainly gleaned from the agency's existing resources, are to be used on the Human Services' IT integration and for the provision of a collective services portal.

On advice for his successor, Wadeson told ZDNet Australia in June that "IT needs a voice".

"IT needs to be able to be in the senior forums of any organisation. And it does have its own voice. It isn't just a tool, as some people like to call it. It's much more than that. It's a big part of the delivery mechanism itself."

Wadeson said the CIO should play to his strengths and that of his team's.

"These are big jobs. You've got to deal with a whole lot of stakeholders. It's a big broad range job and the trick is to have the skills you need across the group," he said.