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Ohio CIO Steve Edmonson Resigns

Steve Edmonson, a former health-care executive, leaves after 18 months; Sam Orth to serve as the interim CIO.

Steve Edmonson will leave his position as the CIO of Ohio effective the end of this week, the state Office of Information Technology (OIT) confirmed Wednesday. Sam Orth, the state manager of enterprise IT architecture and standards, will serve as interim CIO effective Oct. 20.

Edmonson was sworn in as state CIO in February 2007. He worked for Cardinal Health as vice president of IT business management from 2003 to 2005, and as CIO and vice president of IT for a division of Cardinal Health from 1997 to 2003.

Edmonson participated last month in a panel of former and current public CIOs at the annual conference of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. The discussion topic was the pros and cons of public service, and Edmonson said he was "pretty naïve" when he first became CIO of Ohio. "I thought I could make a big impact right away," he said during the conference in Milwaukee. "Since then, I have learned patience. It's a matter of actually determining what to work on; I've learned you can't do it all at once."

Since Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland took office in 2007, the OIT has embarked on several new programs, including the Connect Ohio initiative to improve broadband service to state and local government, and the public.

This story will be updated. Check back later for comments from Edmonson and Orth.

Public CIO Editor Tod Newcombe contributed to this story.