Home » NYC deputy IT commissioner named Kentucky’s chief information officer

NYC deputy IT commissioner named Kentucky’s chief information officer

James Fowler’s appointment effective June 1

FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 1, 2013) — Gov. Steve Beshear announced Tuesday that James M. Fowler as chief information officer (CIO) for state government, effective June 1. He will be taking over the CIO duties from Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary Lori. H. Flanery, who has been the interim CIO for most of this administration. Fowler will also be a member of the Governor’s Executive Cabinet.

“Jim has the experience, leadership and professional expertise that will be of tremendous value for leading Kentucky’s information technology efforts and employees,” Gov. Beshear said. “His background in both the private and public sectors was a major factor in our decision to bring him to Kentucky.”

Fowler is Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology and Telecommunications for New York City. Prior to joining Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration in 2010, Fowler held CIO positions with the Chicago Transit Authority and the New York City Transit Authority. Private sector positions included York International Corporation, and Navistar International Truck and Engine Corporation.

“We were fortunate to receive more than 200 resumes, which made our job of narrowing down potential candidates a challenge,” Flanery said. “Jim is well qualified to take on such an important role as CIO, who must be visionary as well as understand day-to-day operations. He has led efforts to achieve savings and bring about efficiencies without disrupting service.”

As CIO, Fowler will manage the Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT), which has more than 650 employees. COT provides leadership and governance in tailoring technology solutions to advance the capabilities of the Commonwealth. COT develops new technology applications and provides infrastructure and support services.

“I am very excited to be taking on this new challenge,” Fowler said. “Gov. Beshear has outlined an aggressive agenda to advance the effective and efficient use of information technology throughout state government, and I look forward to helping the Commonwealth achieve the goals outlined in this vision.”

As part of Beshear’s Smart Government Initiative, COT has seen major changes over the past year including IT infrastructure consolidation, establishing an alternate data center and beginning the implementation of managed print services. These organizational changes are anticipated to save money, improve efficiencies and provide more safety and security of Commonwealth data and systems.