Craig Orgeron returns to Mississippi CIO role

After retiring from public service in 2020, Craig Orgeron will next month return to a familiar role as Mississippi’s chief information officer.

Mississippi’s state IT board on Monday announced that Orgeron, who spent more than 23 years with the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services and a decade as the state’s top technology official, will return to the job July 1.

“It is an honor to be appointed as the Chief Information Officer for Mississippi,” Orgeron said in a press release. “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 will swap spots with David Johnson, a longtime employee of the state IT department who replaced Oregeron after his 2020 retirement. Johnson announced his retirement earlier this year.

“Under Mr. Johnson’s leadership, ITS made tremendous strides in cloud computing migration and guiding the State through the COVID 19 crisis,” the technology department’s press release reads.

After his career in state government, Orgeron spent three years teaching at the Else School of Management at Millsaps College in Jackson, where he helped develop a curriculum for data science students.

As CIO, Orgeron spent much of his time managing network infrastructure, modernizing legacy systems and improving the services offered to residents of his small, mostly rural state.

A former president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, Orgeron is also celebrated for his leadership among state IT officials nationally, as well as his work improving Mississippi’s digital service offerings, advocating for the use of data-driven government and hardening the state’s cybersecurity posture. Upon announcing his retirement in 2020, he told StateScoop that leaving was a “tough” decision.

“These are my people, these are my colleagues and my friends I’ve known for a very long time, and that was really the toughest part of it,” Orgeron said at the time. “What I’ve learned and what helped me make the decision is that everybody eventually leaves. And it’s very difficult to say when the time is right.”