Brittain, who was out of the role as of March 27, drew acclaim during a productive stint with Maine. He was named one of Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers for 2023, and during Brittain’s tenure, Maine also rose on the Digital States Survey from the Center for Digital Government*, earning an A- last year under Brittain's leadership.
Brittain came to the state CIO role in April 2019, following 25 years with the University of Maine, where he went from leading IT for an individual campus — the University of Maine-Farmington — to serving as associate chief information officer for the entire system. All told, his time as Maine CIO spanned nearly four years.
As CIO, Brittain “was a respected leader and was widely regarded for systems and team building,” said Sharon Huntley, director of communications at the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. “Fred’s service will have lasting positive impact for MaineIT and the state of Maine and has positioned us well to successfully navigate this and the future.“
Huntley noted that Brittain’s successes in the job included strengthening cybersecurity throughout MaineIT, as well as improving response times and outcomes through the state's IT service management system. In addition, Brittain's tenure saw enhanced IT accessibility for everyone, including individuals with disabilities.
Nick Marquis, MaineIT’s current executive director of client and infrastructure services, will move into the CIO post in an interim capacity while a permanent replacement is found.
*The Center for Digital Government is part of e.Republic, Government Technology's parent company.
