The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) Board has hired Craig P. Orgeron, CPM, Ph.D, as the state’s new chief information officer (CIO) for Mississippi and executive director of ITS, effective July 1.
Orgeron is no stranger to the CIO role, having already served as the state’s CIO from 2011-2020. In addition to his experience within the state government, he has served as president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and has been on the Executive Committee of the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center (MS-ISAC).
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Orgeron back to ITS,” said Mark Henderson, chair of the ITS Board. “With his impressive background in information technology and proven track record of innovative leadership, Craig is the ideal person to guide ITS and Mississippi as we continue to strengthen our IT infrastructure and services.”
Since leaving his last stint as CIO, Orgeron has been a professor in the Else School of Management at Millsaps College developing a data science major and a data analytics minor for the school. He has also served as a senior fellow at the Center for Digital Government. From 2020-2022, Orgeron was executive government advisor for Amazon Web Services.
“It is an honor to be appointed as the Chief Information Officer for Mississippi,” said Orgeron. “I am committed to driving innovative solutions and fostering collaboration across all levels of government and the private sector. Together, we can create a dynamic and responsive IT environment that supports our state’s growth and prosperity while delivering exceptional service to our citizens.”
Orgeron replaces David Johnson, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Johnson served as CIO and executive director since Orgeron left the role in 2020.
