On Jan. 15, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced that political operator Mark Myers would head the state’s Department of Information Systems (DIS) starting Jan. 19. Myers replaces former CTO Claire Bailey, who resigned in October. Myers joins the agency after serving as director of strategic initiatives at the Secretary of State since 2011.
“Mark’s technology background in the military, coupled with his breadth of experience in this field, makes him the ideal choice as the new director of DIS,” Hutchinson stated in a press release. “Mark understands the importance this position has on the state and its people, and I know he will represent my administration well.”
Myers is a graduate of the Army Signal School, a major in the Army Reserves, and served active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Outside the military, he worked as a campaign consultant and worked at Wolters Kluwer Law and Business.
The new director joins an agency that has been both criticized for its inability to deliver services to the state’s public schools, but also lauded for its successes, as Bailey was named one of Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers in 2011.
