Colorado Appoints State CIO
Colorado Governor Bill Owens has named Paul Quade, as Colorado’s first Chief Information Officer (CIO). Quade, a Senior Information Technology Executive at Galileo International and former Chairman of Colorado’s Information Management Commission, will serve Colorado in the Governor’s Office of Innovation and Technology for 18 months under a "loaned executive" arrangement with Galileo. As CIO, Quade will be responsible for implementing the Governor’s strategic agenda for information technology and will report to Secretary of Technology Marc Holtzman.
Owens explains, "One of my key objectives in creating the Office of Innovation and Technology in February 1999 was to provide strategic direction and achieve greater efficiency in the State’s purchasing and management of information technology. I’ll be looking to Paul Quade to help in that role."
As Colorado’s CIO, Quade will be responsible for implementing all information technology-related initiatives in the Governor’s Office of Innovation and Technology, headed by Marc Holtzman. Quage will oversee a staff of information technology professionals.
In February, Owens created the Office of Innovation and Technology and named Marc Holtzman as the nation’s second Cabinet-level Secretary of Technology. Owens charged the office with a number of objectives, including management of Colorado’s information technology strategy and resources and ushering the state into an e-commerce era that enables citizens to complete government transactions and licenses electronically. As CIO, Quade will head these efforts.
Quade comes to Colorado government as a loaned executive from Galileo International. Headquartered near Chicago and with 1,100 employees in technology-related positions at its Denver area facilities, Galileo specializes in global distribution systems for the travel industry. Galileo will continue to pay Quade’s salary during his sabbatical.