DorobekINSIDER: CA CIO Teri Takai to be named DOD CIO

The much respected California CIO Teri Takai will be named the Defense Department CIO, insiders confirm. She told her staff yesterday. The Takai appointment was...

The much respected California CIO Teri Takai will be named the Defense Department CIO, insiders confirm. She told her staff yesterday.

The Takai appointment was first reported by NextGov’s Bob Brewin, but the official announcement could come very soon, insiders say.

The DOD CIO post has been vacant since John Grimes retired in April 2009.

Takai is widely respected among state CIOs. She has served as the California CIO since December 2007. Before that, she served as the director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology from 2003 to 2007.

Takai has been expected to take a federal post. It just wasn’t clear what job she would take.

Brewin says:

If Takai gets the nod, she would be the first woman Defense CIO and the first without any experience in the military.

Takai’s bio from the State of California:

On December 6, 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the appointment of Teri Takai as Chief Information Officer for the State of California. As a member of the Governor’s cabinet, she advises him on the strategic management and direction of information technology resources as the state works to modernize and transform the way California does business with its citizens.

Prior to her appointment in California, Takai served as Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT) since 2003, where she also served as the state’s Chief Information Officer. In this position, she restructured and consolidated Michigan’s resources by merging the state’s information technology into one centralized department to service 19 agencies and over 1,700 employees. Additionally, during her tenure at the MDIT, Takai led the state to being ranked number one four years in a row in digital government by the Center for Digital Government.

Before serving in state government, Takai worked for the Ford Motor Company for 30 years, where she led the development of the company’s information technology strategic plan. She also held positions in technology at EDS and Federal-Mogul Corporation. In 2005, Takai was named “Public Official of the Year” by Governing magazine. She is Past-President of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and currently serves as Practitioner Chair of the Harvard Policy Group on Network-Enabled Services and Government.

Takai earned a Master of Arts degree in management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan.

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