She Built the Tech. She Earned the Title. Mangala Kuppa Named Permanent CIO of the US Department of Labor

Mangala Kuppa, a Mumbai born technology executive with over 25 years of experience across the public and private sectors, has been officially appointed as the permanent Chief Information Officer of the US Department of Labor, ending a nearly six month tenure in the acting role and cementing her position as one of the most senior Indian American technology leaders in the federal government.

Kuppa joined the Department of Labor in 2020 after more than a decade at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, steadily rising through the ranks as Director of Business Application Services, Chief Technology Officer and Chief AI Officer before stepping into the acting CIO role in October 2025 following the departure of Thomas Shedd. She retains her dual role as the department's Chief AI Officer, making her simultaneously responsible for the entire IT infrastructure and the artificial intelligence strategy of an agency that oversees worker rights and labour data for the entire nation.

Under her watch, the Department of Labor launched a comprehensive AI roadmap focused on worker empowerment, released an AI literacy framework, established the agency's enterprise data platform and unveiled a new open data portal serving all 27 DOL agencies.

Reacting to her appointment on LinkedIn, Kuppa said simply that she was "grateful for the opportunity to keep serving and making a difference." For the Indian American community watching Washington, it was an understatement worthy of the moment.