Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty announced today that Gopal Khanna, Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the State of Minnesota, Office of Enterprise Technology, will be leaving his post effective December 15, 2010.

“Gopal is a nationally recognized visionary with a tireless commitment and passion for good government,” Governor Pawlenty said. “Gopal has led our efforts to manage information technology as an enterprise program and leveraged public-private partnerships to make government more efficient, effective, and citizen-centric.”

Khanna was appointed Minnesota's first State CIO by Governor Pawlenty in 2005. He advises the Governor on strategies to further his agenda for internal reform and transformation to better serve the citizens of Minnesota, and oversees the statewide IT planning, budgeting, and program execution.

In addition to saving the state over $200 million over five years by standardizing and consolidating hardware and software acquisition, Khanna initiated a nation-leading Cyber Security program and an iGov plan that uses an array of shared services solutions that decrease costs in state government. Khanna serves as Chair of the Commission on Service Innovation, a first-in-the-nation initiative that will recommend restructuring and further improvements to the overall delivery of government services. He also serves on the enrollment workgroup of the federal Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy & Standards Committee. Khanna served as the president of the National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) for 2008-2009.

“Thanks to Governor Pawlenty’s vision for better government and the bi-partisan support of the legislature, we now have a 10-year State IT Master Plan and a high-performing central IT agency that manages the state’s IT assets. This will be the foundation to continue our efforts to restructure the operations of government,” Khanna said. “I feel honored to have had the opportunity to serve the citizens of Minnesota and to help Governor Pawlenty further his agenda for excellence in government.”

Prior to assuming his position in Governor Pawlenty’s cabinet, Khanna served in the administration of President George W. Bush from June 2002 through August 2005, where he held several senior policy positions including CIO and CFO of the Peace Corps and CFO of the Executive Office of the President/Office of Administration. Prior to his government service, Khanna held several corporate executive positions.

Khanna is a recipient of the prestigious Federal 100 Award for being a change agent in federal government. He was cited by Government Technology as one of the 2009 doers, dreamers, and drivers for his work and leadership in state government, and by Information Week as one of “The Government CIO 50” in the United States. In April 2010, Khanna was listed by Twin Cities Business in 200 Minnesotans You Should Know.