Interim No Longer: Iowa Officially Names Matt Behrens as CIO

Iowa announced a new CIO on July 8, confirming interim CIO Matt Behrens to the role in a now permanent capacity, the Office of the CIO confirmed to Government Technology.

The CIO’s office broke the news on social media, posting on Twitter, “The @IowaOCIO is proud to announce Dr. Matt Behrens as the new chief information officer for the State of Iowa. He previously served as Interim CIO and Deputy CIO. Congratulations Dr. Behrens!”

The @IowaOCIO is proud to announce Dr. Matt Behrens as the new Chief Information Officer for the State of Iowa. He previously served as Interim CIO and Deputy CIO. Congratulations Dr. Behrens!

— Iowa OCIO (@IowaOCIO) July 8, 2022

Former CIO Annette Dunn departed the role in Oct. 2021 to join the private sector. The state announced at the time that it would launch a “nationwide search” for her replacement.

Behrens now brings a two-decades-long history of working for Iowa state government. According to his LinkedIn, he first joined the state in 2000, where he spent four years as senior systems administrator for the state IT department and then nine years in various roles for the Department of Administrative Services. He also served four years as deputy CIO and chief technology officer before assuming the interim CIO title in 2021.

As CIO, Behrens has been in charge of “providing strategic direction for a $200 million technology portfolio,” and overseeing “approximately 200 information technology workers, and a direct annual budget in excess of $70 million,” he states on LinkedIn. The work includes “developing an innovation pipeline” for bringing new technology to agencies, managing major IT procurements and “growing an IT brokerage” for the state, negotiating contracts and leading the state’s Broadband Office.