Christie reorganizes state tech structure, appoints first state CTO

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appointed David Weinstein as the state’s first chief technology officer, a new cabinet-level post.

Weinstein, who most recently served as the state’s chief information security officer, will oversee the state’s Office of Information Technology and will be responsible for “developing and implementing strategic policies, information security standards and requirements for all state departments and agencies,” according to a release from Christie’s office Monday.

“Serving as a member of my cabinet, Dave will be responsible for developing and implementing strategic policies, as well as information security standards and requirements,” Christie said in a press conference announcing Weinstein’s appointment. He is committed to making “the state a place where folks can conduct their business in a way that’s more efficient and effective for them and for our employees, but also in a way that is safer and more secure, is significant.”

[Read more: New Jersey names new acting CIO]

The state’s acting chief information officer, Odysseus Marcopolus, will serve as Weinstein’s deputy, focusing on managing the day-to-day operations of the OIT and will advise the CTO “on critical upgrade projects to maintain a state of good repair, troubleshoot IT issues throughout the state agencies and implement procurement and project management strategies.”

Weinstein will focus on refining OIT’s portfolio of IT services in the context of big data, cloud computing, software defined networking and identity management, according to the release. His replacement, who has yet to be named, will lead the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness’ cybersecurity division.

“Technology is both a great risk to the state but it is also presents great opportunities. And we’ll continue the work we’ve done over the past two years to mitigate the risk,” Weinstein said in the press conference. “We’ll also take very aggressive steps for the remainder of this administration to capitalize on the opportunity that technology presents the departments and agencies of this government.”

Contact the reporter who wrote this story at jake.williams@statescoop.com and follow him on Twitter @JakeWilliamsDC.

This story has been updated.