Trump nominates third VA CIO since the start of his administration

President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Gary Shatswell to serve as the next chief information officer and assistant secretary for information and technology for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the third such candidate the White House has put forth to serve in the Senate-confirmed role.

Shatswell’s nomination comes roughly nine months after Trump withdrew former nominee Ryan Cote from consideration for the dual-hatted position. Cote, who served as the Transportation Department’s CIO during the first Trump administration, was initially picked by Trump to serve in the role last July, although the president retracted the nomination just weeks later. 

Alan Boehme, who served as chief technology officer at H&M Group and held other executive leadership roles in the private sector, was similarly picked by Trump last June to serve as VA’s IT chief. His nomination was also withdrawn by the president at the end of that month. 

Unlike the previous nominees, Shatswell is a current agency employee, having served as senior advisor to VA Secretary Doug Collins since December. 

In a Dec. 2 LinkedIn post, Deputy Secretary Paul Lawrence — who has been performing the duties of the dual IT role in lieu of a permanent official —  announced Shatswell’s swearing in as a senior advisor and said he “has a proven record of driving strategic transformation, improving operational performance, and leading high-performing technology organizations.”

Prior to joining VA, Shatswell held a variety of tech leadership roles across private industry. From August 2021 to November 2025, he served as Group CIO at Unilever Prestige. On his LinkedIn page, Shatswell said he was the division’s first CIO and “established centralized IT capabilities while advising brand leadership across the portfolio.”

Before holding that position, Shatswell also served as CIO at Paula's Choice Skincare, vice president of IT at Sur La Table and CIO at Sizzling Platter.