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NIT Trichy presents Distinguished Alumni Award to Raj Iyer
Dr Raj Iyer / Image - cio.gov
The National Institute of Technology, Trichy, will bestow the Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Public Administration upon Indian American Dr. Raj Iyeron December 12.
Iyer served as chief information officer (CIO) for information technology reform in the Office of the Secretary of the Army. The Secretary of the Army personally appointed him with a special mission to update US Army technology in order to counter growing threats from countries like China.
Iyer was the first civilian to hold this position which had previously been held by a three-star military General. As CIO from 2020 to 2023, he set the strategic direction and oversaw the execution of policies and programs for IM/IT including managing an integrated IT architecture, enterprise data management, cybersecurity, and cloud management.
NIT’s award is in recognition of Iyer's groundbreaking public service as the first civilian to hold the position of CIO for the United States Army. He was nominated by other alumni and former professors for the honor.
In 1992, Dr. Iyer earned a BS in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National Institution of Technology, Trichy (NITT), which was previously known as Regional Engineering College Trichy. He went on to earn a Master's and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas in the United States.
As CIO Iyer’s rank was equivalent to a three-star general, which made him the highest ranked Indian- American in the Army’s history. In the role, he
also managed an annual budget of $16 billion to manage IT infrastructure, which supported 1.4 million soldiers and civilians in over 300 Army bases worldwide.
During his time as CIO, Iyer received numerous industry and government awards including the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal for his legacy of digital transformation efforts to build a data-centric Army. The Chief of Staff of the Army General McConville even called him a “Soldier for Life.”
Post his retirement from the Army, the Trichy native returned to the private sector in March 2023. He currently serves as the global head public sector business for ServiceNow – a Fortune 500 silicon-valley based enterprise software company.
In his new role, Iyer advises governments worldwide on large scale digital transformation efforts to enable
them to better benefit from technology to serve their citizens and keep their nations safe.
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