Tennessee CIO Resigns

Richard Rognehaugh, Tennessee's deputy commissioner and chief information officer, has announced that he plans to pursue new career challenges in the very near future, and that he will leave the state CIO position in the Office for Information Resources (OIR), effective April 16, 2004.

"The privilege of working with the high caliber of dedicated and talented employees that we all know are the heartbeat of public service has truly been a highlight of my professional career. Perhaps one of the greatest honors we can give to an organization -- is to attempt to build and strengthen it in such a way that its leadership and programs are ready to move to the next level of quality service. This key staff of 500 dedicated folks within OIR is definitely prepared to carry on Tennessee's significant mission to citizens under this visionary governor and commissioner."

Since February 2002, under Rognehaugh's leadership, the state's Information Technology team has earned many coveted national awards and achievements, including:

• 2003 National Association of State Chief Information Officers' (NASCIO) Recognition Award for Best Practices in the use of Information Technology in State Government for the Tennessee Information Infrastructure (TNII).


• First place national ranking in 2002 for the state Web site, followed by a fourth national ranking in Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy. Tennessee is now the only state to have placed in the top four three years in a row.


• Construction of a state-of-the-art cyber Network Operations and Security Center, with 24-hour staffing to combat the daily realities of cyber-terrorism and hackers.


• Approval of ERP by the state's IT Steering Committee, with comprehensive analysis that led to funding of an Enterprise Resource Planning system to replace more than 120 aging systems in the areas of finance, procurement and human resources.


• Data Magazine's 2003 World Class Solution Award for Business Intelligence.

Rognehaugh, a former Pentagon worldwide technology program manager, and CIO of the regional Catholic Health Care System in New York, said, "Many people have heard me say that this mission is truly a daily reward, in terms of the great people of Tennessee, and the incredible diversity of challenges that are found in the state government technology arena."

Rognehaugh has also served as co-chair of the Government Technology Conference Advisory Board for the Southeastern United States, and led the collaborative formation with Nashville Metro Government and the Nashville Technology Council to conduct the first Tennessee Government Technology Summit in Nashville on May 25, 2004.

Bill Ezell was named as the new CIO. Ezell previously served as chair of the state's IT Assessment & Budget Committee.