State CIO Chris Estes, DENR Secretary Donald van der Vaart, and Commerce Secretary John Skvarla are pleased to announce that Keith Werner has been appointed to the new position of Chief Information Officer for Natural and Economic Resources. In his new role, Keith adds the Department of Commerce to his existing responsibilities as CIO at DENR and the Department of Cultural Resources, and Chair of the Innovation Center.
Keith’s appointment is an additional step in restructuring the State’s IT resources under Executive Order 30, which gave Cabinet Agency CIOs a reporting relationship to the State CIO in addition to their Secretaries. North Carolina’s IT capabilities have already improved significantly under EO30 as we break down the silos between agencies and operate as one statewide entity.
Keith will provide leadership, strategic direction and oversight of IT needs for these Departments. Keith has been an invaluable asset as we work to create a culture of customer service in state government and we are confident he will bring the same results to the Department of Commerce. He will report directly to the State CIO with a dotted line relationship to the Secretaries.
The General Assembly is expected to consider restructuring during this year’s legislative session and additional steps will be taken under Executive Order 30 throughout the remainder of the fiscal year..