Watson steps into the role after serving concurrently as chief information security officer and deputy CIO for Virginia for more than 14 years. In an announcement, the governor’s office listed him among several administration appointments, identifying him as “Chief Information Officer, Virginia Information Technologies Agency.”
As CISO and deputy CIO, Watson has overseen the statewide security strategy, including risk management, incident response and broader IT operations. His work has also included enterprise architecture and cloud strategy. Earlier in his more than 18-year state career, Watson served VITA as senior manager of IT risk management and director of security incident management.
Lindsay LeGrand, VITA’s deputy chief administrative officer and director of strategy and communications, confirmed to Government Technology that Trey Stevens, VITA’s current deputy CISO, will step in as acting state CISO.
The leadership change follows the nomination of Osmond, who has served as Virginia’s CIO since 2022, to the same role in Delaware. During his tenure at VITA, he has overseen infrastructure supporting more than 65,000 users across executive branch agencies and managed approximately $1.3 billion in annual technology procurement, per a Delaware news release, along with efforts tied to cloud adoption, network capacity and enterprise systems.
If confirmed by the state Senate, Osmond would lead Delaware’s Department of Technology and Information. Meyer announced his nomination April 6.
