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Who, What, Where: State and Local CIO Moves in 2023

As they’ve taken on new challenges in new jurisdictions or left for opportunities outside the public sector, chief information officers and their colleagues continue to work toward progress.

Throughout the year, we track state and local IT leaders as they move into and out of technology agencies across the country. As they’ve taken on new challenges in new jurisdictions or left for opportunities outside the public sector, chief information officers and their colleagues continue to work toward progress in cities, counties and states.

JANUARY


Kansas Secretary of Administration and Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO) DeAngela Burns-Wallace left her position. Burns-Wallace held the dual role dating back to August 2019. Adam Proffitt was appointed secretary of administration, adding the responsibilities of that job to his other role as the state’s budget director, while Jeff Maxon was named interim CITO, a position he took over permanently in October.

Donald Beamer Jr. started work as Atlanta’s first senior technology adviser, serving as the chief liaison between the mayor’s office and the city’s tech sector. Beamer works separately from Atlanta’s CIO.

Minnesota CIO Tarek Tomes was reappointed to Gov. Tim Walz’ cabinet after Walz won re-election. Tomes continues on in the role he’s had since May 2019.

Craig Felchle became North Dakota’s chief technology officer on a permanent basis, shoring up the role he had held since October 2022.

Hawaii Chief Information Officer Doug Murdock retained his position after the election of new Gov. Josh Green, extending his stint in the role that dates back to 2019.

Curt Wood retired as Massachusetts CIO after the election of new Gov. Maura Healey. Healey subsequently tapped Jason Snyder to replace Wood in the role, with Snyder bringing past work experience as the state’s chief technology officer.
Massachusetts Chief Information Officer Curtis Wood
Curt Wood
David Kidd/Government Technology

Baltimore appointed Shelby Switzer as the city’s first director of digital services. Switzer previously worked with the United States Digital Service.

Georgia appointed longtime IT professional Steve Hodges as the state’s new CISO, replacing David Allen in the role.

Maryland CIO Katie Savage.jpg
Katie Savage
Government Technology/David Kidd
Maryland CIO Michael Leahy stepped down after six years in the position once new Gov. Wes Moore took office. Moore appointed Katie Savage to replace Leahy. Maryland Chief Data Officer Patrick McLoughlin retained his position through the change in administrations.

Kansas City, Mo., CIO David Evans stepped down, capping a five-year stint in the position.

Mississippi created a new cyber unit, naming Bobby Freeman to lead it as the state’s first cyber director.

Eliza Pollack departed as Philadelphia’s director of innovation. Pollack, who co-founded the city’s innovation team, left for a role in the nonprofit sector.

1711-bill-vajda-03-l.jpg
Bill Vajda
Wyoming CIO Bill Vajda resigned for health-related reasons after holding the job for about a year. Vajda was replaced in an interim capacity by Timothy Sheehan, who served as his deputy. Vajda, meanwhile, went on to lead the Upper Peninsula Cybersecurity Institute in Michigan.

Tim Roemer — Arizona’s CISO and director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security — departed for a cybersecurity leadership role with ThriveDX. Roemer was replaced by Deputy CISO Ryan Murray.

King County, Wash., named Megan Clarke as the county’s new CIO. Clarke had previously worked in the public sector as CIO of Burbank, Calif.

FEBRUARY


North Dakota appointed Kuldip Mohanty as the state’s chief information officer. Mohanty brings more than 30 years of private-sector tech experience to the role.

Chris Inglis stepped down as the nation’s first national cyber director, a position he’d been appointed to in 2021, with the approval of the U.S. Senate.

California appointed Nolwenn Godard as director of the state’s Office of Data and Innovation, with Godard bringing years of private-sector experience to the role.

MARCH


Rhode Island Chief Digital Officer Brian Tardiff
Brian Tardiff
Government Technology/David Kidd
Rhode Island tapped Brian Tardiff for the dual role of the state CIO and chief digital officer. Tardiff, who prior to that served as CISO, has been with Rhode Island IT since 2018.

Arkansas appointed Robert McGough as the state’s chief data officer, elevating the 22-year veteran of Arkansas’ state IT shop.

Fred Brittain, CIO, Maine
Fred Brittain
Government Technology/David Kidd
Maine CIO Fred Brittain departed the role that he held since April 2019. Brittain was replaced in an interim capacity by Nick Marquis.

APRIL


Howard County, Md., appointed James Smith Jr. as its new CIO. Smith filled the role left vacant after former CIO Brandee Ganz left for a new position as the county’s chief administrative officer in March.

Darin Arcolino.
Darin Arcolino
.
Sacramento, Calif., CIO Maria MacGunigal departed the position she held dating back to 2013. She was replaced in the role by Sacramento IT department insider Darin Arcolino.

Austin, Texas, elevated CIO Chris Stewart to an executive advisory role, moving Kerrica Laake into the position in an interim capacity.

Arlington, Texas, appointed Bryce Carter as the city’s first-ever chief information security officer, with Carter bringing a mix of public- and private-sector experience to the role.

2305_Rebecca Cai NY 13.jpg
Rebecca Cai
David Kidd/Government Technology
New York Chief Technology Officer and Deputy Chief Information Officer Rajiv Rao resigned from his position with the state following a voluntary leave of absence. The state also named Rebecca Cai as its chief data officer, but in October she left to take up the same position in Hawaii.

Mark Leech took over as the new director of the Department of Technology and Innovation in Albuquerque, N.M., following the retirement of Brian Osterloh, who spent 19 years with the city.

MAY


Maricopa County, Ariz., named Richard McHattie as its next CIO. McHattie replaced CIO Ed Winfield, who retired from his position, concluding a stint with the county that dated back to 2017.

North Carolina named Torry Crass as its chief risk officer, replacing Rob Main, who retired from the position at the end of 2022.

San Bernardino, Calif., hired Lynn Fyhrlund as its CIO. Fyhrlund left the same position in Milwaukee County, Wis., earlier in the month. Jacqueline Bobo, meanwhile, was named to replace Fyhrlund in Milwaukee County on an interim basis.

Minnesota CISO John Israel
John Israel
Minnesota IT Services
Minnesota promoted John Israel to be the state CISO. Israel had previously held that position in an interim capacity dating back to October 2022, and he brings 25 years of cybersecurity experience to the role.

MassCyberCenter tapped John Petrozzelli to head up the work of the public agency that is focused on strengthening cybersecurity in that state.

Anne Arundel County, Md., named public-sector veteran Jack Martin as CIO. Martin had worked for the county dating back to 2005, having served as both deputy CIO and acting CIO.

Missouri CIO Jeff Wann
Jeff Wann
Government Technology/David Kidd
Jeffrey Wann resigned as Missouri’s CIO, wrapping up a three-year stint in the position. Deputy CIO John Laurent was tapped to take over for Wann in an interim capacity.

Joy Bonaguro departed her position as California’s chief data officer, concluding a three-and-a-half-year stint in the role.

Lexington, Ky., named Liz Rodgers as the city’s new CIO. Rodgers replaced Aldona Valicenti, who left to take on private-sector consulting work.

JUNE


Vermont CIO Denise Reilly-Hughes
Denise Reilly-Hughes
Government Technology/David Kidd
Vermont CIO and Secretary of the Agency of Digital Services Shawn Nailor retired, concluding his career at the organization he helped create back in April 2017. He was replaced in an interim capacity by Denise Reilly-Hughes, who was named to the position permanently in September.

IT industry veteran Sanjay Gupta became Illinois CIO, replacing Jennifer Ricker, who stepped down in January at the end of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s first term.

New Mexico CIO Peter Mantos shifted to a new role overseeing IT-related special projects and government-led initiatives. The state tapped Raja Sambandam — New Mexico’s CISO — to serve as CIO in an interim capacity.

Delaware CIO Jason Clarke
Jason Clarke
David Kidd/Government Technology
Delaware CIO Jason Clarke departed the position for a role with Advantech. The state subsequently tapped Greg Lane as its next CIO.

Philadelphia CIO Mark Wheeler departed the position he held dating back to 2018. Wheeler was replaced in an interim capacity by the city’s chief operating officer, Sandra Carter.

Indiana’s first cyber program director since 2017, Chetrice Mosley-Romero left to join the federal government in a position supporting local Indiana governments.

Headshot of Daniel Urquhart, Alabama OIT
Daniel Urquhart
Hal Yeager Photography 2017
Alabama CIO Marty Redden retired from state service, and he was replaced by Daniel Urquhart, who had served as his deputy secretary.

California shifted Jonathan Porat to be the state’s chief technology officer. Porat previously served as California’s chief technology innovation officer.

JULY


Florida CIO Jamie Grant departed the role, he had held since 2020. No successor appears to have been named.

Melissa Kraft left Dallas County, Texas, to serve as the head of the Information Technology Services Department in nearby Frisco, Texas.

Oklahoma named Joe McInstosh as the state’s new CIO. McIntosh replacied Jerry Moore in the role following his resignation.

Pennsylvania tapped former Comcast executive Amaya Capellán as the state’s next CIO, filling the role that was vacated by John MacMillan after he retired in 2022.

West Virginia CIO Josh Spence departed his position for a role at Alpha Technologies. He was replaced by Heather Abbott, who previously served as chief operations officer for the West Virginia Office of Technology for five years.

AUGUST


Michigan elevated Jayson Cavendish to be the state’s chief security officer and deputy IT director. Previously, Michigan CIO Laura Clark had held a dual role as security officer, too.

Alan Greenberg departed his position as Wisconsin’s CISO, a role he held dating back to May 2021. He was replaced in November by Troy Stairwalt.

Utah Chief Technology Officer Dave Fletcher retired, concluding 20 years in the role and three decades with Utah IT. Fletcher was replaced in the job by Chris Williamson.

Maryland restructured its IT operations, hiring four executives for new tech roles: Michele Thomas as chief technology officer, Marcy Jacobs as chief digital experience officer, Nishant Shah as senior adviser for responsible artificial intelligence and Andrew Drummond as director of accessibility.

Philadelphia appointed Damian Oravez as the city’s chief information security officer. Oravez worked in a similar position for four years with the Philadelphia International Airport. He replaces Ketan Shah in the role.

Andy Hanks stepped down as Montana’s chief information security officer for a position with the Center for Internet Security. The state launched a nationwide search for his replacement.

SEPTEMBER


New York appointed Dru Rai as the state’s new CIO. Rai replaced Angelo “Tony” Riddick in the role, following Riddick’s retirement in March.

Former North Carolina CIO Eric Boyette retired from state service. All told, Boyette spent 27 years working for the state, serving as CIO from 2017 through March 2020, before taking a position as secretary for the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Suma Nallapati, who formerly served as CIO for the state of Colorado and more recently held a role in the private sector, was tapped to take on the role of CIO for the city and county of Denver.

Connecticut named Dan O’Keefe its first-ever chief innovation officer after O’Keefe helped design the new position for the state.

OCTOBER


Georgia Technology Authority Chief Technology Officer Dmitry Kagansky left his post, ending a two-year stint with the state government, including time as the state’s first chief cloud officer. As of press time, a replacement had not been named.

Washington, D.C., appointed Christopher Rodriguez as the city’s acting chief technology officer. Rodriguez replaced Michael Rupert, who stepped into the role after Lindsey Parker was elevated to be Mayor Muriel Bowser’s chief of staff in March.

Raleigh, N.C., CISO Robert Reynolds departed his role to become the CIO of nearby Orange County, N.C.

Tonya Webster was appointed New York state’s first chief customer experience officer. She brings more than two decades of private-sector experience to the role.

NOVEMBER


Pennsylvania named James Sipe as its new CISO. A veteran of the private sector, most recently with Amazon, Sipe has more than 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and leadership.

DECEMBER


Colorado CIO Anthony Neal-Graves retired from the position he held since October 2020.

This story originally appeared in the December issue of Government Technology magazine. Click here to view the full digital edition online.
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