Yesterday, West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin announced his appointment of Kyle Schafer to serve as the state's Chief Technology Officer.

A West Virginia native, Schafer brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from the private sector. He has held various leadership roles with leading energy companies NiSource and Columbia Gas Transmission Corp., most recently serving as director of technology, infrastructure and design for Nisource Corporate Services.

"Kyle Schafer is a talented and driven leader who brings a wealth of experience with him to the management of the state's technology infrastructure," the governor said. "Under Kyle's leadership and guidance, we will continue to evaluate our technology issues and needs, but, more importantly, where West Virginia needs to be in terms of utilizing technology to deliver responsible government to the people of our state."

Schafer's responsibilities will include overseeing the Office of Technology, which was reorganized as a result of House Bill 2891 during the 2005 Regular Legislative Session. Formerly structured as part of the Governor's Office, the Office of Technology now operates under the Department of Administration.

Several goals of the Office of Technology have been outlined, including: reduction of the total cost of computing through the centralization, consolidation, standardization and integration of the state's technical infrastructure; enhancement of public access to needed information via an intuitive, easy to access web portal; development and delivery of targeted technical education to state employees to ensure readily available technical support; introduction of new and emerging technologies; and, reduction of risks to the state's information assets through the implementation of enhanced security and disaster recovery programs.

Mr. Schafer is a graduate of Marshall University, where he earned a B.S. degree in computer science and M.I.S. degree in technology management.