Virginia tech secretary to step down

Virginia Secretary of Technology George Newstrom will resign from his post effective Oct. 1 to pursue other opportunities, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) said Monday morning at the Virginia Information Technology Symposium in Norfolk. Deputy Secretary of Technology Eugene Huang will succeed Newstrom.Newstrom brought a private-sector philosophy to an area of state government desperately in need of private-sector solutions during his more than two and one-half years in the position, Warner said. "We tried to lay out a vision and direction in the Strategic Plan for Technology that the Warner administration published when we first came to office," Newstrom said. "I believe continuing on that course will have a substantive impact on the effectiveness, efficiency and cost of service to the citizens" of Virginia.Newstrom has spoken frequently of Virginia's need to take an enterprise approach to IT that would let it achieve substantial savings over time. While serving as secretary of technology, he was responsible for helping enact key technology reform measures, such as the consolidation of all IT services and IT employees into a single agency. As chairman of the Virginia Information Technology Investment board, Newstrom recently helped the state develop an IT investment portfolio that would let the governor and legislature make key decisions regarding IT expenditures for Virginia's 2004-06 budget.Before accepting the position, Newstrom had worked since 1974 for Electronic Data Systems Corp. of Plano, Texas. In his last position at EDS, Newstrom ran the company's business operations in the Pacific region.(UPDATED, Sept. 28, 11 a.m.)