Chief Information Officer Ray Schmidt to Leave the PCAOB

Washington, D.C., August 1, 2007 –  The PCAOB announced today that Ray Schmidt has informed the Board that he is resigning from his position as Chief Information Officer of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

Mr. Schmidt has served in this capacity since the Board was founded. He has been responsible for the design, development and deployment of the Board's internal Information Technology (IT) and the direction of the PCAOB’s IT strategy.  As CIO, Mr. Schmidt oversaw the development of a secure and reliable technology infrastructure for the organization in less than one year. During its first few months of operation, Mr. Schmidt successfully established a Web-based system for audit firms to register online within the statutory deadline.

Chairman Mark Olson said, “The PCAOB has been fortunate to have Ray’s leadership, especially during its formative years. A tremendous amount was accomplished in a very short time to help the Board fulfill its mandate. Ray’s focus on building a robust and secure technological infrastructure has been very beneficial to the PCAOB.”

“Rapidly building an effective technology organization from scratch is a unique, challenging and rewarding achievement,” Mr. Schmidt said.  “The dedication and expertise of the technology professionals at the Board are second to none. I look forward to utilizing my experience in the private sector.

“It’s hard to believe,” Mr. Schmidt continued, “that it has been almost five years since the PCAOB began operations. The excellent work that has been accomplished is a credit to the exceptional Board members and staff who have worked so diligently to execute the Board’s mission.  I am grateful for my time at the Board and the opportunity to work with our group of dedicated professionals.”  

Prior to joining the PCAOB, Mr. Schmidt was Corporate Enterprise Manager for RS Information Systems of McLean, Va., a federal contractor providing information technology and engineering services. Mr. Schmidt also held several management positions within the corporate IT group at business intelligence technology firm MicroStrategy and the company's Strategy.com business unit. Prior to MicroStrategy, Mr. Schmidt held both technical and management positions with E-Systems (now a Raytheon company) and began his career at Control Data Corp.

Marc Stewart, Deputy Director, Office of Information Technology, will act as interim CIO from Sept. 1, 2007, until a permanent CIO is appointed.