Ohio creates IT office, appoints CIO

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has created a cabinet-level chief information officer to oversee the state's new Office of Information Technology, the governor's office announced this month.

Taft named Greg Jackson, assistant director for the Department of Administrative Services, as state chief information officer. The Office of Information Technology will be part of the administrative agency, the governor's office said.

"We are always looking for ways to increase efficiencies in state spending and improve service delivery, and a unified information technology strategy will help us meet this goal," Taft said.

Jackson's experience with both public- and private-sector information systems makes him "the ideal person to lead the state's IT efforts," Taft said.

Jackson has been assistant director of the Department of Administrative Services since January 2000. He serves on the Ohio SchoolNet Commission, on the board of the National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council and on the board of the National Association of State CIOs.

Jackson previously served as senior consultant with IBM Corp.'s Global Government Consulting Group, and as deputy director of management information systems with the Ohio Department of Taxation. He has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Bowling Green and a master in business administration from Ashland University.

Forty-eight states have a specifically designated CIO position that either stands independently or is part of the chief administrator or controller positions, NASCIO reported last year. More than a half dozen other states have recently elevated their CIO positions, the association said.