Rajiv Uppal is the Director of the Office of Information Technology and the Acting Chief Information Officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In this capacity, Rajiv provides leadership across the enterprise in all areas of information technology, including security and privacy, enterprise architecture, and IT investment planning. Rajiv is a visionary technology executive with 25+ years of experience in enterprise software, leading development from concept to launch of software applications, managing large, complex IT programs, steering IT strategic planning and applying best practices in IT management. Prior to joining CMS, Rajiv served as part of the US Digital Service team at the Department of Homeland Security, working on transformation initiatives such as the Trusted Traveler and Single Window projects.

Over the course of his career, Rajiv has fostered highly effective leadership teams and developed relationships with major investors including venture capital firms, government entities and Fortune 500 companies, and has created multiple technology platforms acquired by industry leaders such as IBM.

Rajiv holds a Master’s degree in Systems Science from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor’s Degree from the Indian Institute of Technology.

James Hanson joined Nextgov from ConnellyWorks—where he managed public relations, marketing and three dozen events each year—and has 14 years of experience developing innovative marketing campaigns across the federal, defense, intelligence community, state and local markets. Hanson leads a team guiding the conversation to help government technology decision-makers and influencers get the tools, services and ideas they need to accelerate the business and mission of government.

Hanson is a proven innovator who helps connect companies with the needs of government. One of his key roles is acting as Nextgov’s brand evangelist in the federal community. He also leads business development, product planning and client relationships for the government contractor community from Nextgov’s Washington, D.C. headquarters.

Eric is a senior director with Cerner, has spent over 20 years of federal civilian and private sector engagement experience, helping government and commercial health systems to harness the power of technology to meet healthcare mission needs. He currently leads Cerner’s relationships with federal agencies, consulting with clients and executives to shape Cerner’s products and services to be the solution to the mission challenge. Eric has held executive leadership positions with at Concentra, Biodex Medical Systems and UPMC Health Enterprise, serving both public and private sector clients. He holds graduate degrees in Health Administration and Business Administration, and a clinical degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Pittsburgh.