Bob McFarland

Bob McFarland recently finished a stint in Washington, D.C. as the CIO for the Department of Veterans Affairs where he ran the largest IT budget outside of the Pentagon.  As the Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, Bob was responsible for overseeing operation of VA’s computer systems and telecommunication networks for medical information, veterans’ benefits payments, life insurance programs and financial management systems.

Prior to his service in Washington, Bob was Vice President of government relations for Dell Computer Corporation.  Bob took that post after having served a number of years at Dell as Vice President and General Manager of Dell’s Government Business Segment.  Bob also held several executive positions at Dell, including managing the company’s global segment as well as the Large Corporate Accounts division.

Before coming to Dell, Bob’s information technology career included executive experience with several domestic and international enterprises.  He served as Senior Vice President for the Cerplex Group, Inc., of Southern California, a provider of outsourcing for electronics repair and distribution, and Vice President of the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions of AST Research, Inc.  An Army veteran, Bob McFarland served in the Vietnam War and earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from LeTourneau University.