Mock was tapped by North Dakota Gov.-Elect Kelly Armstrong in November to take on the role, following the May 2024 resignation of former CIO Kuldip Mohanty, who viewed state government as a business when he served starting in February 2023.
Mock has experience in the private, nonprofit and public sectors, and was a member of the state’s House of Representatives from December 2008 to December 2024. He served on the IT Committee during this period, and was its chair for four years.
During his time in the Legislature, Mock said he was able to see the technology the state uses from a government perspective, work on policy, and get an understanding of how the state budget functions. Still, he said he “would not have anticipated being a chief information officer” when Armstrong selected him for the role.
The governor was seeking a CIO who understood the human elements of IT, Mock said, underlining that Armstrong was looking for someone who could effectively build relationships across agencies and treat them as partners. Having knowledge of how the policy and budget work in the state, he said, provides context and composure during what can be a “turbulent process.”
IT is often perceived as tools, systems and “shiny gadgets,” the CIO said, emphasizing the importance of the people providing and receiving the services. “I hope my legacy is around how we were able to bring IT back to the human level,” Mock said.
The experience of having served in the Legislature shapes how he communicates with the people making the policy and budget decisions, the CIO said, because he understands and emphasizes the need to use plain language when talking about technology — rather than assuming technical jargon is widely understood. He said this approach has helped create a better understanding of how state government works internally.
As CIO, Mock said he will prioritize North Dakota Information Technology’s (NDIT) ability to provide customer support to other agencies, noting that the success of other state entities spells success for NDIT.
“We enable agencies to be superheroes,” Mock said. “They serve the citizens of North Dakota; we’re here to help them be the heroes they need to be.”
Since his November appointment, Mock has largely been exploring the scope of the CIO role within the state, including its mission and history. Now, he’s looking forward to a more hands-on phase; Mock plans to see how IT services are deployed and how they are used by NDIT’s clients — state agencies.
North Dakota hosted its annual Cyber Madness event in January, which is one outcome of the state’s concerted effort to build out cybersecurity infrastructure. The event, a technology tournament now in its fourth year, aims to create excitement and awareness around cybersecurity, to engage a new workforce generation and address the state IT staffing shortage. Mock noted that his own kids are excited to participate when they are older.
The state also has a robust statewide network for increased security, the North Dakota Statewide Technology Access for Government and Education network (STAGEnet). Every public entity in the state is required to use STAGEnet to maintain security. The next phase of cybersecurity for the state will involve obtaining the resources to be more proactive against anticipated threats, the CIO said.
He credited former Gov. Doug Burgum for his approach to technology and recognition of its potential impacts. Mock said that under Burgum’s administration, the state was able to significantly advance digitization — partly catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, under the Armstrong administration, Mock said officials have identified a need to increase the state’s capacity to support previous technology advances that have been made.
The state’s rapid IT growth created expectations of increased efficiencies and cost savings that Mock said have not yet been realized, in part due to a lack of awareness around the life cycle, upfront costs, and maintenance and operations costs of IT projects. North Dakota’s recent efforts to establish a state-level version of the Department of Government Efficiency, if enacted, would provide an opportunity to assess state operations and solutions and find areas with the potential for improvement.
“There is always a reason that a process — even a bad process — is in place,” Mock said, noting that his work will allow him to explore the reason certain processes exist, their effectiveness, and whether a better solution is possible. “So, I’m very excited about the people, learning the behind-the-scenes, seeing it in action, and then really being able to bring folks together to talk about what this can look like in four or five years.”
