Former Pa. CIO launches govt. tech consulting firm

Charles Gerhards, former Pennsylvania chief information officer, has established a consulting firm to assist public- and private-sector organizations with technology strategy, he announced April 23.

Gerhards Consulting Group LLC of Harrisburg, Pa., will provide services, thought leadership, client relationship management and procurement expertise for public-sector organizations and technology companies.

Gerhards retired in January after 33 years with Pennsylvania state government. Most recently, he was chief information officer from 1999 to 2003 under governors Tom Ridge and Mark Schweiker.

As state CIO, Gerhards oversaw the development and implementation of several groundbreaking government technology projects, including data center consolidation and outsourcing, statewide enterprise resource planning, an integrated justice network, a state portal, a shared e-mail network and desktop standardization for state employees, and competitive telecommunications services.

The new company will be closely affiliated with the Affinity Group LLC, also of Harrisburg. They will share expertise and resources to best serve clients needs.

The Affinity Group assists technology companies with their public-sector growth strategies and also public, nonprofit and private organizations on e-government, economic development and work force development projects.

"I see this as an opportunity to take what I've learned about people dynamics, management and technology implementations and apply it to the benefit of organizations that want to excel," Gerhards said.