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Delaware CIO James Collins is moving on to Microsoft

After six years of leading the Delaware Department of Technology and Information, Collins is going national.

State CIO James Collins speaks at an ITWorks event, Jan. 25, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Jessica Mitchell)

Governor John Carney announced Tuesday that Delaware Chief Information Officer (CIO) James Collins will be leaving the position later this month after 20 years of state service to join Microsoft Consulting as a general manager focused on state and local government, and higher education.

For the past six years, Collins serves as head of the Delaware Department of Technology and Information (DTI).

Governor Carney announced that Jason Clarke, chief operating officer at DTI, will serve as acting CIO. Carney will send a CIO nomination to the Delaware Senate for consideration before the General Assembly reconvenes in January 2021.

“James has been a central member of our team since day one, when I asked him to continue to lead DTI and Delaware’s transition to a more digital government,” said Governor Carney in a press statement. “But his work and expertise has never been more important than over the last six months — as we have battled this COVID-19 pandemic. James and his team have kept state workers connected throughout this crisis, making sure they could continue to deliver vital services to Delaware families. We will miss James’ leadership but wish him well at Microsoft.”

Some of Collins’ notable projects over the last six years include expanding digital broadband across rural Delaware, creating the Delaware Cyber Security Advisory Council, expanding the state’s Open Data/Open Checkbook portal and advancing IT centralization and virtualization cloud-based “as-a-Service” solutions.

In 2019, Collins was elected as president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and continues to serve on its executive committee.

“I have been blessed with amazing opportunities in the course of my career,” Collins said in a statement. “I am excited for this next step to continue helping governments and institutions of higher learning transform to deliver digital services on a national scale.”

Companies: State of Delaware / Microsoft
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