Colorado chooses new CIO

• By Dibya Sarkar
• Dec 19, 2000

Colorado Governor's Office of Innovation and Technology

Robert Feingold, chief information officer for Colorado's Department of

Natural Resources, will become the state's CIO in January.

Gov. Bill Owens appointed Feingold last week. He'll replace current

CIO Paul Quade, whose term ends March 1, 2001. Quade, who has been serving

since August 1999, is on extended loan from Galileo International, a global

distribution systems company for the travel industry, to which he will return.

As the state's CIO, Feingold, 58, will supervise information technology

initiatives developed by the Governor's Office of Innovation and Technology,

led by technology secretary Marc Holtzman.

"I certainly am pleased and humbled to be offered this position and

to do everything in my power to help Governor Owens and Marc Holtzman meet

their objectives," Feingold said in an interview.

He said his first priority will be to develop a state portal, which

would be launched in early 2001. "We see that not just as another pretty

Web site but one that would provide good government services," he said.

He said he will work with various departments to improve their programs

through available technology, including digital imaging and workflow management.

"I want to act as a conduit for information on what works and what doesn't

work and help those departments modernize those processes and better connect

to the citizenry and reduce costs," he said.

As the CIO for the state's Department of Natural Resources for most

of the past year, Feingold said he helped launch an online campground reservation

system, had a hand in an ongoing study to improve hunting and fishing licensing

procedures, and participated in an imaging project program with several

divisions.

One challenge he faces as the new state CIO will be to improve the way

departments interact with citizens and businesses. For example, an entrepreneur

starting a business might have to deal with the secretary of state's office,

the Department of Labor and Employment, and the Revenue Department to get

the proper registrations. With an online process, the entrepreneur would

input data once and it would get routed to the proper departments, streamlining

the process, he said.

"We want to work on breaking down the process barriers but do it in

such a way that it's a win-win-win situation...for the citizens, the department

and the department's employees," he said.

Feingold is a 25-year veteran of the Air Force. He commanded the Space

and Warning Systems Center and was director of software systems for Air

Force Command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

Prior to working for the state, Feingold worked for Robbins-Gioia Inc.,

a program management/consulting firm, and Information + Graphic Systems

Inc., a software development company.