Torre Jessup

Chief Deputy & Deputy State Chief Information Officer

As chief deputy/deputy state chief information officer, Torre Jessup leads the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Internal Operations Division and focuses his efforts on providing enterprise application and infrastructure services to state agencies, local governments and universities across North Carolina.

Prior to becoming chief deputy state CIO in April 2024, Jessup served more than two years as NCDIT’s chief operating officer, overseeing the department’s administrative functions. 

In that role, he focused on building capacity in administrative areas to better serve the agency's operational needs, investing in process improvement for statewide IT procurement and increasing the agency’s internal and external engagement. He has also served as NCDIT’s lead for the N.C. Environmental Justice Council and the Interagency Resiliency Task Force. 

Jessup also served more than four years as commissioner of the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles, where he oversaw daily operations and provided strategic direction for the division’s key functions, including vehicle registration, driver license issuance, vehicle safety and emissions inspections as well as activities to halt vehicle theft and identity fraud.

Under his leadership, NCDMV relocated its headquarters from Raleigh to Rocky Mount, made significant process improvements and expanded online services.

Jessup’s experience also includes director of the Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization for the U.S. Department of Transportation and regional administrator for the U.S. General Services Administration's Southeast Sunbelt Region.

He also spent 20 years in the office of North Carolina Rep. Mel Watt as district director and in various liaison roles. During his tenure, Jessup set policy objectives, oversaw district-level strategy and operations and managed outreach and constituent affairs.

He also served appointments on the Board of Directors for the American Association for Motor Vehicle Administrators and North Carolina Criminal Justice Information Network, as well as the North Carolina Human Relations Commission and the Charlotte Metropolitan Transit Finance Working Group.

Jessup is a graduate of Morehouse College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology with a concentration in criminal justice. He and his wife Donna are proud parents of two sons.